LLUL 


HUDSON  EDITION 


LIFE 


GEORGE    "WASHINGTON 


BT 


IN  FIVE  VOLS. 


VOL.1 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
Gbe  Ifcnicfcerbocfcer  tpress 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857,  by 

G.  P.  PUTNAM  AND  Co., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PEEFACE 


HE  following  work  was  commenced  several  years 
ago,  but  the  prosecution  of  it  has  been  repeat 
edly  interrupted  by  other  occupations,  by  a 
long  absence  in  Europe,  and  by  occasional  derangement 
of  health.  It  is  only  within  the  last  two  or  three  years 
that  I  have  been  able  to  apply  myself  to  it  steadily. 
This  is  stated  to  account  for  the  delay  in  its  publication. 

The  present  volume  treats  of  the  earlier  part  of  Wash 
ington's  life  previous  to  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  giv 
ing  his  expeditions  into  the  wilderness,  his  campaigns  on 
the  frontier  in  the  old  French  war ;  and  the  other  "  expe 
riences,"  by  which  his  character  was  formed,  and  he 
was  gradually  trained  up  and  prepared  for  his  great 
destiny. 

Though  a  biography,  and  of  course  admitting  of  famil 
iar  anecdote,  excursive  digressions,  and  a  flexible  texture 
of  narrative,  yet,  for  the  most  part,  it  is  essentially  his 
toric.  "Washington,  in  fact,  had  very  little  private  life, 
but  was  eminently  a  public  character.  All  his  actions 

7 

£45299 


8  PREFACE. 

and  concerns  almost  from  boyhood  were  connected  with 
the  history  of  his  country.  In  writing  his  biography, 
therefore,  I  am  obliged  to  take  glances  over  collateral 
history,  as  seen  from  his  point  of  view  and  influencing 
his  plans,  and  to  narrate  distant  transactions  apparently 
disconnected  with  his  concerns,  but  eventually  bearing 
upon  the  great  drama  in  which  he  was  the  principal 
actor. 

I  have  endeavored  to  execute  my  task  with  candor  and 
fidelity ;  stating  facts  on  what  appeared  to  be  good  au 
thority,  and  avoiding  as  much  as  possible  all  false  cclor- 
ing  and  exaggeration.  My  work  is  founded  on  the  cor 
respondence  of  Washington,  which,  in  fact,  affords  the 
amplest  and  surest  groundwork  for  his  biography.  This 
I  have  consulted  as  it  exists  in  manuscript  in  the  archives 
of  the  Department  of  State,  to  which  I  have  had  full  and 
frequent  access.  I  have  also  made  frequent  use  of 
"  "Washington's  Writings,"  as  published  by  Mr.  Sparks  ; 
a  careful  collation  of  many  of  them  with  the  originals 
having  convinced  me  of  the  general  correctness  of  the 
collection,  and  of  the  safety  with  which  it  may  be  relied 
upon  for  historical  purposes ;  and  I  am  happy  to  bear 
this  testimony  to  the  essential  accuracy  of  one  whom  I 
consider  among  the  greatest  benefactors  to  our  national 
literature ;  and  to  whose  writings  and  researches  I  ac 
knowledge  myself  largely  indebted  throughout  my  work. 

W.  L 

SUNNYSIDE,  1865. 


CONTENTS  or  VOLUME  I. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PASS 

Genealogy  of  the  Washington  Family 25 

CHAPTER  II. 

Che  Home  of  Washington's  Boyhood. — His  early  Education. — Law 
rence  Washington  and  his  Campaign  in  the  West  Indies. — Death 
of  Washington's  Father.— The  Widowed  Mother  and  her  Chil 
dren. — School  Exercises 45 

CHAPTER  III. 

internal  Conduct  of  an  Elder  Brother.— The  Fairfax  Family.— 
Washington's  Code  of  Morals  and  Manners. — Soldiers'  Tales. — 
Their  Influence. — Washington  Prepares  for  the  Navy. — A  Moth 
er's  Objections. — Return  to  School. — Studies  and  Exercises. — 
A  School-boy  Passion. — The  Lowland  Beauty. — Love  Ditties  at 
Mount  Vernon. — Visit  to  Belvoir. — Lord  Fairfax. — His  Charac 
ter. — Fox-hunting  a  Remedy  for  Love. — Proposition  for  a  Sur 
veying  Expedition 58 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Expedition  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge.— The  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah. 
— Lord  Fairfax.— Lodge  in  the  Wilderness. — Surveying. — Life 


10  CONTENTS. 

KMt 

in  the  Backwoods. — Indians.— War  Dance. — German  Settlers. — 
Return  Home. — Washington  as  Public  Surveyor. — Sojourn  at 
Greenway  Court.— Horses,  Hounds,  and  Books. — Eugged  Ex 
perience  among  the  Mountains 64 


CHAPTER  V. 

English  and  French  Claims  to  the  Ohio  Valley. —Wild  State  of  the 
Country. — Projects  of  Settlements. — The  Ohio  Company. — En 
lightened  Views  of  Lawrence  Washington. — French  Rivalry. — 
Celeron  de  Bienville. — His  Signs  of  Occupation. — Hugh  Craw 
ford. — George  Croghan,  a  Veteran  Trader,  and  Montour,  his  In 
terpreter. — Their  Mission  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  Ohio  Tribes. 
— Christopher  Gist,  the  Pioneer  of  the  Yadkin. — Agent  of  the 
Ohio  Company. — His  Expedition  to  the  Frontier. — Reprobate 
Traders  at  Logstown.— Negotiations  with  the  Indians. — Scenes 
in  the  Ohio  Country. — Diplomacy  at  Piqua. — Kegs  of  Brandy 
and  Rolls  of  Tobacco. — Gist's  Return  across  Kentucky.— A  De 
serted  Home. — French  Schemes. — Captain  Joncaire,  a  Diplomat 
of  the  Wilderness. — His  Speech  at  Logstown. — The  Indians' 
Land. —"Where?"..  74 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Preparations  for  Hostilities. — Washington  appointed  District  Adju 
tant-general. —  Mount  Vernon  a  School  of  Arms. — Adjutant 
Muse,  a  Veteran  Campaigner. — Jacob  Van  Braam,  the  Master  of 
Fence. — 111  Health  of  Washington's  Brother  Lawrence. — Voyage 
with  him  to  the  West  Indies.— Scenes  at  Barbadoes. — Tropical 
Fruits.— Beefsteak  and  Tripe  Club.— Return  Home  of  Washing 
ton.— Death  of  Lawrence  .  93 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

Council  of  the  Ohio  Tribes  at  Logstown. — Treaty  with  the  English. 
— Gist's  Settlement. — Speeches  of  the  Half -king  and  the  French 
Commandant. — French  Aggressions. — The  Ruins  of  Piqua. — 
Washington  sent  on  a  Mission  to  the  French  Commander. — Ja 
cob  Van  Braam,  his  Interpreter. — Christopher  Gist,  his  Guide. — 
Halt  at  the  Confluence  of  the  Monongaliela  and  Alltghany. — 
Projected  Fort. — Shingiss,  a  Delaware  Sachem. — Logstown.— 
The  Half -king. — Indian  Councils. — Indian  Diplomacy. — Rumors 
concerning  Joncaire. — Indian  Escorts. — The  Half-king,  Jeska- 
kake,  and  White  Thunder 100 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Arrival  at  Venango. — Captain  Joncaire. — Frontier  Revelry. — Discus 
sions  over  the  Bottle. — The  Old  Diplomatist  and  the  Young. — 
The  Half-king,  Jeskakake,  and  White  Thunder  staggered. — The 
Speech-belt.— Departure. — La  Force,  the  Wily  Commissary. — 
Fort  at  French  Creek. — The  Chevalier  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre, 
Knight  of  St.  Louis. — Captain  Reparti. — Transactions  at  the 
Fort.— Attempts  to  Seduce  the  Sachems. —Mischief  brewing  on 
the  Frontier.— Difficulties  and  Delays  in  Parting.— Descent  of 
French  Creek.— Arrival  at  Venango 112 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Return  from  Venango.— A  Tramp  on  Foot.—  Murdering  Town.— The 
Indian  Guide.— Treachery.— An  Anxious  Night.— Perils  on  the 
Alleghany  River.— Queen  Aliquippa.— The  old  Watch-coat.  ~- 
Return  across  the  Blue  Ridge 123 

CHAPTER  X. 

Reply  of  the  Chevalier  de  St.  Pierre.— Trent's  Mission  to  the  Fron 
tier.— Washington  recruits  Troops.— Dinwiddie  and  the  House 


12  CONTENTS. 

of  Burgesses. — Independent  Conduct' of  the  Virginians.— Expe 
dients  to  gain  Recruits. —Jacob  Van  Braara  in  Service.— Toilful 
March  to  Wills'  Creek. — Contrecoeur  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio.-— 
Trent's  refractory  Troops 133 

CHAPTER  XI. 

March  to  the  Little  Meadows. — Rumors  from  the  Ohio. — Correspond 
ence  from  the  Banks  of  the  Youghiogheny. — Attempt  to  descend 
that  River. — Alarming  Reports.— Scouting  Parties. — Perilous 
Situation  of  the  Camp.— Gist  and  La  Force.— Message  from  the 
Half -king. — French  Tracks. — The  Jumonville  Skirmish.— Treat 
ment  of  La  Force. — Position  at  the  Great  Meadows. — Belligerent 
Feelings  of  a  Young  Soldier 145 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Scarcity  in  the  Camp. — Death  of  Colonel  Fry. — Promotions. — Mackay 
and  his  Independent  Company.— Major  Muse.— Indian  Ceremo 
nials. — Public  Prayers  in  Camp. — Alarms. — Independence  of  an 
Independent  Company. — Affairs  at  the  Great  Meadows.— Deser 
tion  of  the  Indian  Allies. — Capitulation  of  Fort  Necessity. — Van 
Braam  as  an  Interpreter. —Indian  Plunderers. — Return  to  Wil- 
liainsburg. — Vote  of  Thanks  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.— Subse 
quent  Fortunes  of  the  Half- king. — Comments  on  the  Affair  of 
Jumonville  and  the  Conduct  of  Van  Braam 159 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Pounding  of  Fort  Cumberland. — Secret  Letter  of  Stobo. — The  Indian 
Messenger. — Project  of  Dinwiddie. — His  Perplexities. — A  Taint 
of  Republicanism  in  the  Colonial  Assemblies. — Dinwiddie's  Mili 
tary  Measures. — Washington  quits  the  Service. — Overtures  of 
Governor  Sharpe  of  Maryland.  —Washington's  dignified  Reply.— 


CONTENTS.  13 

PAOB 

Questions  of  Rank  between  Royal  and  Provincial  Troops.— 
Treatment  of  the  French  Prisoners. — Fate  of  La  Force. — Anec 
dotes  of  Stobo  and  Van  Braara 177 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Return  to  quiet  Life. — French  and  English  prepare  for  Hostilities. — 
Plan  of  a  Campaign. — General  Braddock. — His  Character. — Sir 
John  St.  Clair,  Quartermaster-general —His  Tour  of  Inspection. 
—Projected  Roads.— Arrival  of  Braddock.— Military  Consulta 
tions  and  Plans. — Commodore  Keppel  and  his  Seamen. — Ships 
and  Troops  at  Alexandria.— Excitement  of  Washington.— In 
vited  to  Join  the  Staff  of  Braddock.— A  Mother's  Objections.-— 
Washington  at  Alexandria.— Grand  Council  of  Governors.— Mili 
tary  Arrangements. — Colonel  William  Johnson. — Sir  John  St. 
Clair  at  Fort  Cumberland.— His  Explosions  of  Wrath.— Their 
Effects.— Indians  to  be  Enlisted.— Captain  Jack  and  his  Band  of 
Bush-beaters 187 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Washington  proclaimed  Aide-de-camp. — Disappointments  at  Freder- 
icktown. — Benjamin  Franklin  and  Braddock. — Contracts. — De 
parture  for  Wills'  Creek.— Rough  Roads.— The  General  in  his 
Chariot. —  Camp  at  Fort  Cumberland. — Hugh  Mercer. —  Dr. 
Craik. — Military  Tactics. — Camp  Rules. — Secretary  Peters. — In 
dians  in  Camp. — Indian  Beauties. — The  Princess  Bright  Light 
ning. — Errand  to  Williamsburg. — Braddock's  Opinion  of  Con 
tractors  and  Indians.— Arrival  of  Conveyances. 20f 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

March  from  Fort  Cumberland.— The  Great  Savage  Mountain.— Camp 
at  the  Little  Meadows. — Division  of  the  Forces. — Captain  Jack 


CONTENTS. 


and  his  Band.—  Scarooyadi  in  Danger.—  Illness  of  Washington. 
—  His  Halt  at  the  Youghiogheny.  —  March  of  Braddock.  —  The 
Great  Meadows.  —  Lurking  Enemies.  —  Their  Tracks.  —  Precau 
tions.  —  Thicketty  Bun.  —  Scouts.  —  Indian  Murders.  —  Funeral  of 
an  Indian  Warrior.  —  Camp  on  the  Monongahela.  —  Washington's 
Arrival  there.  —  March  for  Fort  Duquesne.  —  The  Fording  of  the 
Monongahela.—  The  Battle.—  The  Retreat.—  Death  of  Braddock.  318 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Arrival  at  Fort  Cumberland.  —  Letters  of  Washington  to  his  Family. 
—Panic  of  Dunbar  ..........................................  244 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Costs  of  Campaigning.  —  Measures  for  Public  Safety.  —  Washington 
in  Command.  —  Head-quarters  at  Winchester.  —  Lord  Fairfax  and 
his  Troop  of  Horse.  —  Indian  Ravages.  —  Panic  at  Winchester.  — 
Cause  of  the  Alarm.  —  Operations  elsewhere.  —  Shirley  against  Ni 
agara.  —  Johnson  against  Crown  Point.  —  Affair  at  Lake  George.  — 
Death  of  Dieskau  ............................................  249 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Reform  in  the  Militia  Laws.—  Discipline  of  the  Troops.—  Dagworthy 
and  the  Question  of  Precedence.  —  Washington's  Journey  to  Bos 
ton.—  Style  of  Travelling.—  Conference  with  Shirley.—  The  Earl 
of  Loudoun.—  Military  Rule  for  the  Colonies.  —  Washington  at 
New  York.—  Miss  Mary  Philipse  ..............................  261 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Troubles  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.—  Green  way  Court  and  Lord 
Fairfax  in  Danger.  —  Alarms  at  Winchester.  —  Washington  ap- 


CONTENTS.  15 

FAQ* 

pealed  to  for  Protection. — Attacked  by  the  Virginia  Press. — 
Honored  by  the  Public. — Projects  for  Defense. — Suggestions  of 
Washington.— The  Gentlemen  Associators.— Retreat  of  the  Sav 
ages.— Expedition  against  Kittanning.— Captain  Hugh  Mercer. 
—Second  Struggle  through  the  Wilderness , 27ti 


CHAPTER  XXL 

Founding  of  Fort  Loudoun. — Washington's  Tour  of  Inspection. — In 
efficiency  of  the  Militia  System. — Gentlemen  Soldiers. — Cross- 
purposes  with  Dinwiddie. —  Military  Affairs  in  the  North. — 
Delays  of  Lord  Loudoun. — Activity  of  Montcalm. — Loudoun  in 
Winter  Quarters 290 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Washington  vindicates  Ms  Conduct  to  Lord  Loudoun. — His  Re 
ception  by  fiis  Lordship. — Military  Plans. — Lord  Loudoun  at 
Halifax. — Montcalm  on  Lake  George. — His  Triumphs.— Lord 
Loudoun's  Failures. — Washington  at  Winchester. — Continued 
Misunderstandings  with  Dinwiddie. — Return  to  Mount  Vernon. .  800 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

Washington  recovers  ms  Health. — Again  in  Command  at  Fort  Lou 
doun. — Administration  of  Pitt.— Loudoun  succeeded  by  General 
Abercrombie.  —  Military  Arrangements.  —  Washington  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  Virginia  Forces. — Amherst  against 
Louisburg. — General  Wolfe. — Montgomery. — Capture  of  Louis- 
burg. — Abercrombie  on  Lake  George. — Death  of  Lord  Howe. — 
Repulse  of  Abercrombie. — Success  of  Bradstreet  at  Oswego 3K 


16  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

TAGE 

Slow  Operations. — Washington  Orders  out  the  Militia. — Mission  to 
Williamsburg.  —  Halt  at  Mr.  Chamberlayne's.  —  Mrs.  Martha 
Custis. — A  Brief  Courtship. — An  Engagement. — Return  to  Win 
chester. — The  Rifle  Dress. — Indian  Scouts.— Washington  elected 
to  the  House  of  Burgesses. — Tidings  of  Amherst's  Success. — The 
New  Road  to  Fort  Duquesne. — March  for  the  Fort. — Indiscreet 
Conduct  of  Major  Grant. — Disastrous  Consequences. — Washing 
ton  advances  against  Fort  Duquesne. — End  of  the  Expedition. 
— Washington  returns  Home. — His  Marriage 323 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

plan  of  Operations  for  1759. — Investment  of  Fort  Niagara. — Death 
of  Prideaux. — Success  of  Sir  William  Johnson.— Amherst  at  Ti- 
conderoga. — Wolfe  at  Quebec. — His  Triumph  and  Death. — Fate 
of  Montcalm. — Capitulation  of  Quebec. — Attempt  of  De  Levi  to 
retake  it.— Arrival  of  a  British  Fleet. —Last  Stand  of  the  French 
at  Montreal.— Surrender  of  Canada 340 

CHAPTER  XXVL 

Washington's  Installation  in  the  House  of  Burgesses. — His  Rural  Life. 
— Mount  Vernon  and  its  Vicinity. — Aristocratical  Days  of  Vir 
ginia. —  Washington's  Management  of  his  Estate. — Domestic 
Habits.  —  Fox-hunting. — Lord  Fairfax. — Fishing  and  Duck- 
shooting.— The  Poacher.— Lynch  Law. — Aquatic  State. — Life  at 
Annapolis. — Washington  in  the  Dismal  Swamp 3f» 

CHAPTER  XXVH. 

Treaty  of  Peace. — Pontiac's  War. — Course  of  Public  Events. — Board 
of  Trade  against  Paper  Currency.— Restrictive  Polio. v  of  Eng- 


CONTENTS.  17 

PAG! 

iand. — Navigation  Laws. — Discontents  in  New  England. — Of 
the  Other  Colonies. — Projects  to  raise  Revenue  by  Taxation. — 
Blow  at  the  Independence  of  the  Judiciary. — Naval  Commanders 
employed  as  Custorn-house  Officers. — Retaliation  of  the  Colo 
nists. — Taxation  resisted  in  Boston. — Passing  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
—Burst  of  Opposition  in  Virginia.— Speech  of  Patrick  Henry.. .  378 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Washington's  Ideas  concerning  the  Stamp  Act. — Opposition  to  it  in 
the  Colonies. — Porter. tous  Ceremonies  at  Boston  and  New  York. 
— Non-importation  Agreement  among  the  Merchants. — Wash 
ington  and  George  Mason. — Dismissal  of  Grenville  from  the 
British  Cabinet. — Franklin  before  the  House  of  Commons. — Re 
peal  of  the  Stamp  Act. — Joy  of  Washington. — Fresh  Causes  of 
Colonial  Dissensions. — Circular  of  the  General  Court  of  Massa 
chusetts.— Embarkation  of  Troops  for  Boston.— Measures  of  the 
Bostonians..  


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Cheerful  Life  at  Mount  Vernon. — Washington  and  George  Mason.— 
Correspondence  concerning  the  Non-importation  Agreement. — 
Feeling  toward  England.— Opening  of  the  Legislative  Session.— 
Semi-regal  State  of  Lord  Bctetourt.— High-toned  Proceedings  of 
the  House.— Sympathy  with  New  England.— Dissolved  by  Lord 
Botetourt.— Washington  and  the  Articles  of  Association. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Hood  at  Boston.— The  General  Court  refuses  to  do  Business  under 
Military  Sway.— Resists  the  Billeting  Act.— Effect  of  the  Non- 
VOL.  i. — 2 


18  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

importation  Association. — Lord  North  Premier. — Duties  revoked 
except  on  Tea. — The  Boston  Massacre. — Disuse  of  Tea. — Concili 
atory  Conduct  of  Lord  Botetourt.— His  Death 413 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

jjUxpedition  of  Washington  to  the  Ohio,  in  Behalf  of  Soldiers'  Claims. 
—Uneasy  State  of  the  Frontier.  —  Visit  to  Fort  Pitt.  —  George 
Croghan.  —  His  Mishaps  during  Pontiac's  War.  —  Washington 
descends  the  Ohio. — Scenes  and  Adventures  along  the  River. — 
Indian  Hunting  Camp. — interview  with  an  Old  Sachem  at  the 
Mouth  of  the  Ki«aawha.— Return.  — Claims  of  Stobo  and  Van 
Braam. — Letter  to  Colonel  George  Muse 41fc 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Lord  Dunmore  Governor  of  Virginia. — Piques  the  Pride  of  the  Vir 
ginians.— Opposition  of  the  Assembly. — Corresponding  Commit 
tees.  —  Death  of  Miss  Custis.  —  Washington's  Guardianship  of 
John  Parke  Custis.— His  Opinions  as  to  Premature  Travel  and 
Premature  Marriage 428 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Lord  North's  Bill  favoring  the  Exportation  of  Teas.— Ships  freighted 
with  Tea  to  the  Colonies. — Sent  back  from  some  of  the  Ports. — 
Tea  destroyed  at  Boston.— Passage  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill. — Ses 
sion  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.  —  Splendid  Opening. — Burst  of 
Indignation  at  the  Port  Bill.— House  Dissolved.— Resolutions  at 
the  Raleigh  Tavern. — Project  of  a  General  Congress. — Washing 
ton  and  Lord  Dunmore.— The  Port  Bill  goes  into  Effect.— Gen 
eral  Gage  at  Boston. — League  and  Covenant . .  487 


CONTENTS.  19 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

PAGK 

Washington  Chairman  of  a  Political  Meeting. — Correspondence  with 
Bryan  Fairfax. — Patriotic  Resolutions. — Washington's  Opinions 
on  Public  Affairs.  —  Non-importation  Scheme.  —  Convention  at 
Williamsburg. — Washington  appointed  a  Delegate  to  the  General 
Congress. — Letter  from  Bryan  Fairfax. — Perplexities  of  General 
Gage  at  Boston  446 

CHAPTER  XX^ 

Meeting  of  the  First  Congress. — Opening  Ceremonies. — Eloquence  of 
Patrick  Henry  and  Henry  Lee. — Declaratory  Resolution. — Bill 
of  Rights. — State  Papers. — Chatham's  Opinions  of  Congress. — 
Washington's  Correspondence  with  Captain  Mackenzie. — Views 
with  respect  to  Independence. — Departure  of  Fairfax  for  Eng 
land 457 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Cage's  Military  Measures. — Removal  of  Gunpowder  from  the  Ar 
senal. — Public  Agitation. — Alarms  in  the  Country. — Civil  Gov 
ernment  Obstructed. — Belligerent  Symptoms. — Israel  Putnam 
and  General  Charles  Lee,  their  Characters  and  Stories. — Gen 
eral  Election. — Self-constituted  Congress. — Hancock  President. 
— Adjourns  to  Concord. — Remonstrance  to  Gage. — His  Perplex 
ities. — Generals  Artemas  Ward  and  Seth  Pomeroy. — Committee 
of  Safety. — Committee  of  Supplies. — Restlessness  throughout  the 
Land. — Independent  Companies  in  Virginia. — Military  Tone  at 
Mount  Vernon. — Washington's  Military  Guests. — Major  Hora^ 
tio  Gates. — Anecdotes  concerning  Him. — General  Charles  Lee. 
— His  Peculiarities  and  Dogs. — Washington  at  the  Richmond 
Convention. — War  Speech  of  Patrick  Henry. — Washington's 
Military  Intentions 471 


20  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

TAGE 

infatuation  in  British  Councils.  —  Colonel  Grant,  the  Braggart. — 
Coercive  Measures.  —  Expedition  against  the  Military  Maga 
zine  at  Concord.  —  Battle  of  Lexington.  —  The  Cry  of  Blood 
through  the  Land.  —  Old  Soldiers  of  the  French  War. — John 
Stark. — Israel  Putnam.— Rising  of  the  Yeomanry.— Measures  ol 
Lord  Dunmore  in  Virginia. — Indignation  of  the  Virginians.— 
Hugh  Mercer  and  the  Friends  of  Liberty. — Arrival  of  the  News 
of  Lexington  at  Mount  Vernon. — Effect  on  Bryan  Fairfax,  Gates, 
and  Washington 489 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Enlisting  of  Troops  in  the  East.  — Camp  at  Boston.  — General  A* 
temas  Ward.  —  Scheme  to  Surprise  Ticonderoga. —  New  Hamp* 
shire  Grants.  —  Ethan  Allen  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.-^ 
Benedict  Arnold. — Affair  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. — A 
Dash  at  St.  John's 603 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Second  Session  of  Congress. — John  Hancock. — Petition  to  the  King. 
— Federal  Union. — Military  Measures. — Debates  about  the  Army. 
— Question  as  to  Commander-in-chief. — Appointment  of  Washing 
ton. — Other  Appointments. — Letters  of  Washington  to  his  Wife 
and  Brother. — Preparations  for  Departure * 512 

CHAPTER  XL. 

More  Troops  arrive  at  Boston. — Generals  Howe,  Burgoyne,  and  Clin 
ton. — Proclamation  of  Gage. — Nature  of  the  American  Army. — 
Scornful  Conduct  of  the  British  Officers. — Project  of  the  Ameri 
cans  to  seize  upon  Breed's  HilL  — Putnam's  Opinion  of  it. — Sane- 


CONTENTS.  21 


FAGB 


tioned  by  Prescott.— Nocturnal  March  of  the  Detachment. —For 
tifying  of  Bunker's  Hill.  —  Break  of  Day,  and  Astonishment  of 
the  Enemy 534 

CHAPTER   XLI. 
Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill 537 

CHAPTER   XLII. 

Departure  from  Philadelphia.— Anecdotes  of  General  Schuyler.— Of 
Lee.— Tidings  of  Bunker's  Hill.  —Military  Councils  —  Popula 
tion  of  New  York.— The  Johnson  Family.—  Governor  Tryon.— 
Arrival  at  New  York.— Military  Instructions  to  Set  uyler,— Ar 
rival  at  the  Camp .  -  658 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON* 


CHAPTEE  I. 

GENEALOGY   OP    THE  WASHINGTON   FAMILY. 


HE  Washington  family  is  of  an  ancient  English 
stock,  the  genealogy  of  which  has  been  traced 
up  to  the  century  immediately  succeeding  the 
Conquest.  At  that  time  it  was  in  possession  of  landed 
estates  and  manorial  privileges  in  the  county  of  Dur 
ham,  such  as  were  enjoyed  only  by  those,  or  their  de 
scendants,  who  had  come  over  from  Normandy  with  the 
Conqueror,  or  fought  under  his  standard.  When  Will 
iam  the  Conqueror  laid  waste  the  whole  country  north 
of  the  Humber,  in  punishment  of  the  insurrection  of  the 
Northumbrians,  he  apportioned  the  estates  among  his 
followers,  and  advanced  Normans  and  other  foreigners 
to  the  principal  ecclesiastical  dignities.  One  of  the 
most  wealthy  and  important  sees  was  that  of  Durham. 
Hither  had  been  transported  the  bones  of  St.  Cuthbert 
from  their  original  shrine  at  Lindisfarne,  when  it  was 

25 


26 


OF   WASHINGTON. 


.. 

ravaged  by  the  Danes.  That  saint,  says  Camden,  was 
esteemed  by  princes  and  gentry  a  titular  saint  against 
the  Scots.*  His  shrine,  therefore,  had  been  held  in  pe 
culiar  reverence  by  the  Saxons,  and  the  see  of  Durham 
endowed  with  extraordinary  privileges. 

William  continued  and  increased  those  privileges.  He 
needed  a  powerful  adherent  on  this  frontier  to  keep 
the  restless  Northumbrians  in  order,  and  check  Scottish 
invasion;  and  no  doubt  considered  an  enlightened  ec 
clesiastic,  appointed  by  the  crown,  a  safer  depositary 
of  such  power  than  an  hereditary  noble. 

Having  placed  a  noble  and  learned  native  of  Loraine 
in  the  diocese,  therefore,  he  erected  it  into  a  palatinate, 
over  which  the  bishop,  as  Count  Palatine,  had  temporal 
as  well  as  spiritual  jurisdiction.  He  built  a  strong  cas 
tle  for  his  protection,  and  to  serve  as  a  barrier  against 
the  Northern  foe.  He  made  him  lord  high  admiral  of 
the  sea  and  waters  adjoining  his  palatinate,  lord  warden 
of  the  marches,  and  conservator  of  the  league  between 
England  and  Scotland.  Thenceforth,  we  are  told,  the 
prelates  of  Durham  owned  no  earthly  superior  within 
their  diocese,  but  continued  for  centuries  to  exercise 
every  right  attached  to  an  independent  sovereign.t 

The  bishop,  as  Count  Palatine,  lived  in  almost  royal 
state  and  splendor.  He  had  his  lay  chancellor,  cham- 

*  Camden,  Brit.  iv.  349. 

f  Annals  of  Roger  de  Hovedon.  Hutchinson's  Durham,  vol.  ii.  Cot- 
fatanea  Curiosa,  vol.  ii.  p.  83. 


GENEALOG  Y.  27 

berlains,  secretaries,  steward,  treasurer,  master  of  the 
horse,  and  a  host  of  minor  officers.  Still  he  was  under 
feudal  obligations.  All  landed  property  in  those  warlike 
times  implied  military  service.  Bishops  and  abbots, 
equally  with  great  barons  who  held  estates  immediately 
of  the  crown,  were  obliged,  when  required,  to  furnish 
the  king  with  armed  men  in  proportion  to  their  domains  ; 
but  they  had  their  feudatories  under  them,  to  aid  them 
in  this  service. 

The  princely  prelate  of  Durham  had  his  barons  and 
knights,  who  held  estates  of  him  on  feudal  tenure,  and 
were  bound  to  serve  him  in  peace  and  war.  They  sat 
occasionally  in  his  councils,  gave  martial  splendor  to  his 
court,  and  were  obliged  to  have  horse  and  weapon  ready 
for  service,  for  they  lived  in  a  belligerent  neighborhood, 
disturbed  occasionally  by  civil  war,  and  often  by  Scottish 
foray.  When  the  banner  of  St.  Cuthbert,  the  royal  stand 
ard  of  the  province,  was  displayed,  no  armed  feudatory 
of  the  bishop  could  refuse  to  take  the  field.* 

Some  of  these  prelates,  in  token  of  the  warlike  duties 
of  their  diocese,  engraved  on  their  seals  a  knight  on 
horseback,  armed  at  all  points,  brandishing  in  one  hand 
a  sword,  and  holding  forth  in  the  other  the  arms  of  the 
see.f 

Among  the  knights  who  held  estates  in  the  palatinate 
on  these  warlike  conditions  was  WILLIAM  DE  HERTBURN, 

*  Robert  de  Graystanes,  Aug.  Sac.  p.  746. 
f  Camden,  Brit.  iv.  349. 


28  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  progenitor  of  the  Washingtons.  His  Norman  name 
of  William  would  seem  to  point  out  his  national  descent ; 
and  the  family  long  continued  to  have  Norman  names  of 
baptism.  The  surname  of  De  Hertburn  was  taken  from 
a  village  on  the  palatinate,  which  he  held  of  the  bishop 
in  knight's  fee ;  probably  the  same  now  called  Hartburn, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tees.  It  had  become  a  custom 
among  the  Norman  families  of  rank,  about  the  time  of 
the  Conquest,  to  take  surnames  from  their  castles  or  es 
tates  ;  it  was  not  until  some  time  afterwards  that  sur 
names  became  generally  assumed  by  the  people.* 

How  or  when  the  De  Hertburns  first  acquired  posses 
sion  of  their  village  is  not  known.  They  may  have  been 
companions  in  arms  with  Robert  de  Brus  (or  Bruce),  a 
noble  knight  of  Normandy,  rewarded  by  William  the 
Conqueror  with  great  possessions  in  the  North,  and 
among  others,  with  the  lordships  of  Hert  and  Hertness 
in  the  county  of  Durham. 

The  first  actual  mention  we  find  of  the  family  is  in  the 
"  Bolden  Book,"  a  record  of  all  the  lands  appertaining  to 
the  diocese  in  1183.  In  this  it  is  stated  that  William  de 
Hertburn  had  exchanged  his  village  of  Hertburn  for  the 
manor  and  village  of  Wessyngton,  likewise  in  the  dio- 


*  Lower,  On  Surnames,  vol.  i.  p.  43.  Fuller  says  that  the  custom  of 
surnames  was  brought  from  France  in  Edward  the  Confessor's  time,  about 
fifty  years  before  the  Conquest  ;  but  did  not  become  universally  settled 
until  some  hundred  years  afterwards.  At  first  they  did  not  descend  hered 
itarily  on  the  family.  Fuller,  Church  History.  Roll  Battle  Abbey. 


GENEALOGY.  29 

cese ;  paying  the  bishop  a  quit-rent  of  four  pounds,  and 
engaging  to  attend  him  with  two  greyhounds  in  grand 
hunts,  and  to  furnish  a  man-at-arms  whenever  military 
aid  should  be  required  of  the  palatinate.* 

The  family  changed  its  surname  with  its  estate,  and 
thenceforward  assumed  that  of  DE  WESSYNGTON.f  The 
condition  of  military  service  attached  to  its  manor  will 
"be  found  to  have  been  often  exacted,  nor  was  the  service 
'.n  the  grand  hunt  an  idle  form.  Hunting  came  next  to 
war  in  those  days,  as  the  occupation  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry.  The  clergy  engaged  in  it  equally  with  the  laity. 
The  hunting  establishment  of  the  Bishop  of  Durham  was 
on  a  princely  scale.  He  had  his  forests,  chases,  and 

*  THE  BOLDEN  BOOK.  As  this  ancient  document  gives  the  first  trace 
of  the  Washington  family,  it  merits  especial  mention.  In  1183  a  survey 
was  made,  by  order  of  Bishop  de  Pusaz,  of  all  the  lands  of  the  see  held  in 
demesne,  or  by  tenants  in  villanage.  The  record  was  entered  in  a  book 
called  the  Bolden  BuJce  ;  the  parish  of  Bolden  occurring  first  in  alphabet 
ical  arrangement.  The  document  commences  in  the  following  manner  : 
"  Incipit  liber  qui  vocatur  '  Bolden  Book.'  Anno  Dominice  Incarna- 
tionis,  1183,  "etc. 

The  following  is  the  memorandum  in  question :  — 

"Willus  de  Herteburn  habet  Wessyngton  (excepta  ecclesia  et  terra 
ecclesie  partinen)  ad  excamb.  pro  villa  de  Herteburn  quam  pro  hac  qui- 
etam  clamavit :  Et  reddit  4  L.  Et  vadit  in  magna  caza  cum  2  Leporar. 
Et  quando  commune  auxilium  venerit  debet  dare  1  Militem  ad  plus  de 
auxilio,"  etc.  Collectanea  Curiosa,  vol.  ii.  p.  89. 

The  Bolden  "Buke  is  a  small  folio,  deposited  in  the  office  of  the  bishop's 
auditor,  at  Durham. 

f  The  name  is  probably  of  Saxon  origin.  It  existed  in  England  prior 
to  the  Conquest.  The  village  of  Wassengtone  is  mentioned  in  a  Saxon 
charter  as  granted  by  King  Edgar  in  973  to  Thorney  Abbey,  Collectanea 
TopograpMca,  iv.  55. 


30  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

parks,  with  their  train  of  foresters,  rangers,  and  park- 
keepers.  A  grand  hunt  was  a  splendid  pageant,  in  which 
all  his  barons  and  knights  attended  him,  with  horse  and 
hound.  The  stipulations  with  the  Seignior  of  Wessyng- 
ton  show  how  strictly  the  rights  of  the  chase  were  de 
fined.  All  the  game  taken  by  him  in  going  to  the  forest 
belonged  to  the  bishop ;  all  taken  on  returning  belonged 
to  himself.* 

Hugh  de  Pusaz  (or  De  Pudsay)  during  whose  episco 
pate  we  meet  with  this  first  trace  of  the  De  Wessyngtons, 
was  a  nephew  of  King  Stephen,  and  a  prelate  of  great 
pretensions ;  fond  of  appearing  with  a  train  of  ecclesias 
tics  and  an  armed  retinue.  When  Kichard  Coeur  de 
Lion  put  everything  at  pawn  and  sale  to  raise  funds  for 
a  crusade  to  the  Holy  Land,  the  bishop  resolved  to  ac 
company  him.  More  wealthy  than  his  sovereign,  he 
made  magnificent  preparations.  Besides  ships  fco  convey 
his  troops  and  retinue,  he  had  a  sumptuous  galley  for 
himself,  fitted  up  with  a  throne  or  episcopal  chair  of  sil 
ver,  and  all  the  household,  and  even  culinary  utensils, 
were  of  the  same  costly  material.  In  a  word,  had  not 
the  prelate  been  induced  to  stay  at  home,  and  aid  the 
king  with  his  treasures,  by  being  made  one  of  the  regents 
of  the  kingdom,  and  earl  of  Northumberland  for  life,  the 
De  Wessyngtons  might  have  followed  the  banner  of  St 
Cuthbert  to  the  holy  wars. 

*  Hutchinson's  Durham,  vol.  ii.  p.  480. 


GENEALOGY.  31 

Nearly  seventy  years  afterwards  we  find  the  family 
still  retaining  its  manorial  estate  in  the  palatinate.  The 
names  of  Bondo  de  Wessyngton  and  William  his  son  ap 
pear  on  charters  of  land,  granted  in  1257  to  religious 
houses.  Soon  after  occurred  the  wars  of  the  barons,  in 
which  the  throne  of  Henry  HI.  was  shaken  by  the  De 
Mountforts.  The  chivalry  of  the  palatinate  rallied  un 
der  the  royal  standard.  On  the  list  of  loyal  knights 
who  fought  for  their  sovereign  in  the  disastrous  battle 
of  Lewes  (1264),  in  which  the  king  was  taken  prisoner, 
we  find  the  name  of  William  Weshington,  of  Wesh- 
ington.* 

During  the  splendid  pontificate  of  Anthony  Beke  (or 
Beak),  the  knights  of  the  palatinate  had  continually  to 
be  in  the  saddle,  or  buckled  in  armor.  The  prelate  was 
so  impatient  of  rest  that  he  never  took  more  than  one 
sleep,  saying  it  was  unbecoming  a  man  to  turn  from  one 
side  to  another  in  bed.  He  was  perpetually,  when 
within  his  diocese,  either  riding  from  one  manor  to  an 
other,  or  hunting  and  hawking.  Twice  he  assisted  Ed- 
vard  I.  with  all  his  force  in  invading  Scotland.  In  the 
progress  northward  with  the  king,  the  bishop  led  the 
van,  marching  a  day  in  advance  of  the  main  body,  with  a 
mercenary  force,  paid  by  himself,  of  one  thousand  foot 
and  five  hundred  horse.  Besides  these  he  had  his  feu- 

*  This  list  of  knights  was  inserted  in  the  Bolden  Book  as  an  additional 
entry.  It  is  cited  at  full  length  by  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Dwrham,  voL  t 
p.  230. 


32  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

datories  of  the  palatinate ;  six  bannerets  and  one  hun« 
dred  and  sixty  knights,  not  one  of  whom,  says  an  old 
poem,  but  surpassed  Arthur  himself,  though  endowed 
with  the  charmed  gifts  of  Merlin.*  We  presume  the  De 
Wessyngtons  were  among  those  preux  chevaliers,  as  the 
banner  of  St.  Cuthbert  had  been  taken  from  its  shrine 
on  the  occasion,  and  of  course  all  the  armed  force  of  the 
diocese  was  bound  to  follow.  It  was  borne  in  front  of 
the  army  by  a  monk  of  Durham.  There  were  many  rich 
caparisons,  says  the  old  poem,  many  beautiful  pennons, 
fluttering  from  lances,  and  much  neighing  of  steeds.  The 
hills  and  valleys  were  covered  with  sumpter  horses  and 
wagons  laden  with  tents  and  provisions.  The  Bishop  of 
Durham  in  his  warlike  state  appeared,  we  are  told,  more 
like  a  powerful  prince,  than  a  priest  or  prelate.f 

At  the  surrender  of  the  crown  of  Scotland  by  John 
Baliol,  which  ended  this  invasion,  the  bishop  negotiated 
on  the  part  of  England.  As  a  trophy  of  the  event,  the 
chair  of  Scone,  used  on  the  inauguration  of  the  Scot 
tish  monarchs,  and  containing  the  stone  on  which  Jacob 
dreamed,  the  palladium  of  Scotland,  was  transferred  to 
England  and  deposited  in  Westminster  Abbey.J 

*  "Onques  Artous  pour  touz  ces  charmes, 
Si  beau  prisent  ne  ot  de  Merlin." 

Siege  of  Karlavarock  ;  am,  old  Poem  in  Norman 

French. 

f  Robert  de  Graystanes,  Aug.  Sac.  p.  746,  cited  by  Hutchinson,  vol.  & 
p.  239. 
t  An  extract  from  an  inedited  poem,  cited  by  Nicolas  in  his  translft- 


GENEALOGY.  33 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  we  find  the  De  Wessyng- 
tons  still  mingling  in  chivalrous  scenes.  The  name  of 
Sir  Stephen  de  Wessyngton  appears  on  a  list  of  knights 
(nobles  chevaliers)  who  were  to  tilt  at  a  tournament  at 
Dunstable  in  1334  He  bore  for  his  device  a  golden  rose 
on  an  azure  field.* 

He  was  soon  called  to  exercise  his  arms  on  a  sterner 
field.  In  1346,  Edward  and  his  son,  the  Black  Prince, 
being  absent  with  the  armies  in  France,  King  David  of 
Scotland  invaded  Northumberland  with  a  powerful  army. 
Queen  Philippa,  who  had  remained  in  England  as  regent, 
immediately  took  the  field,  calling  the  northern  prelates 
and  nobles  to  join  her  standard.  They  all  hastened  to 
obey.  Among  the  prelates  was  Hatfield,  the  Bishop  of 
Durham.  The  sacred  banner  of  St.  Cuthbert  was  again 
displayed,  and  the  chivalry  of  the  palatinate  assisted  at 

tion  of  the  Siege  of  Carlavarock,  gives  a  striking  picture  of  the  palati 
nate  in  those  days  of  its  pride  and  splendor  :  — 

"There  valor  bowed  before  thn  rood  and  book, 

And  kneeling  knightbood  served  a  prelate  lord, 
Yet  little  deigned  he  on  such  train  to  look, 
Or  glance  of  ruth  or  pity  to  afford. 

"There  time  has  heard  the  peal  rung  out  at  night, 

Has  seen  from  every  tower  the  cressets  stream, 
When  the  red  baie-fire,  on  yon  western  height, 
Had  roused  the  warder  from  his  fitful  dream. 

"Has  seen  old  Durham's  lion  banner  float 

O'er  the  proud  bulwark,  that,  with  giant  pride 
And  feet  deep  plunged  amidst  the  circling  modt, 
The  efforts  of  the  roving  Scot  defied." 


*  Collect.  Topog.  et  Genealog.  torn.  iv.  p.  395. 


VOL.  i. 


34  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  famous  battle  of  Nevil's  Cross,  near  Durham,  in 
which  the  Scottish  army  was  defeated  and  King  David 
taken  prisoner. 

Queen  Philippa  hastened  with  a  victorious  train  to 
cross  the  sea  at  Dover,  and  join  King  Edward  in  his 
camp  before  Calais.  The  prelate  of  Durham  accom 
panied  her.  His  military  train  consisted  of  three  ban 
nerets,  forty-eight  knights,  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
esquires,  and  eighty  archers,  on  horseback.*  They  all 
arrived  to  witness  the  surrender  of  Calais  (1346),  on 
which  occasion  Queen  Philippa  distinguished  herself  by 
her  noble  interference  in  saving  the  lives  of  its  patriot 
citizens. 

Such  were  the  warlike  and  stately  scenes  in  which  the 
De  Wessyngtons  were  called  to  mingle  by  their  feudal 
duties  as  knights  of  the  palatinate.  A  few  years  after 
the  last  event  (1350),  William,  at  that  time  lord  of  the 
manor  of  Wessyngton,  had  license  to  settle  it  and  the  vil 
lage  upon  himself,  his  wife,  and  "  his  own  right  heirs." 
He  died  in  1367,  and  his  son  and  heir,  William,  suc 
ceeded  to  the  estate.  The  latter  is  mentioned  under 
the  name  of  Sir  William  de  Weschington,  as  one  of  the 
knights  who  sat  in  the  privy  council  of  the  county  during 
the  episcopate  of  John  Fordham.f  During  this  time  the 
whole  force  of  the  palatinate  was  roused  to  pursue  a 
foray  of  Scots,  under  Sir  William  Douglas,  who,  having 

*  Collier's  Eccles.  Hist,  book  vi.  cent.  xiv. 
f  Hutchinson,  vol.  ii. 


GENEALOGY.  35 

ravaged  the  country,  were  returning  laden  with  spoil.  It 
was  a  fruit  of  the  feud  between  the  Douglases  and  the 
Percys.  The  marauders  were  overtaken  by  Hotspur 
Percy,  and  then  took  place  the  battle  of  Otterbourne,  in 
which  Percy  was  taken  prisoner  and  Douglas  slain.* 

For  upwards  of  two  hundred  years  the  De  Wessyng- 
tons  had  now  sat  in  the  councils  of  the  palatinate  ;  had 
mingled  with  horse  and  hound  in  the  stately  hunts  of  its 
prelates,  and  followed  the  banner  of  St.  Cuthbert  to  the 
field ;  but  Sir  William,  just  mentioned,  was  the  last  of 
the  family  that  rendered  this  feudal  service.  He  was  the 
last  male  of  the  line  to  which  the  inheritance  of  the 
manor,  by  the  license  granted  to  his  father,  was  confined. 
It  passed  away  from  the  De  Wessyngtons,  after  his 
death,  by  the  marriage  of  his  only  daughter  and  heir, 
Dionisia,  with  Sir  William  Temple  of  Studley.  By  the 
year  1400  it  had  become  the  property  of  the  Blaykes- 
tons.t 

But  though  the  name  of  De  Wessyngton  no  longer 
figured  on  the  chivalrous  roll  of  the  palatinate,  it  con 
tinued  for  a  time  to  flourish  in  the  cloisters.  In  the  year 
1416,  John  de  Wessyngton  was  elected  prior  of  the  Bene 
dictine  convent  attached  to  the  cathedral.  The  monks 
of  this  convent  had  been  licensed  by  Pope  Gregory  VIL 


*  •«  Theare  the  Dowglas  lost  his  life, 
And  the  Percye  was  led  away." 

Fordun,  quoted  by  Surtee's  Hist.  Durham,  voL  L 
f  Hutchinson's  Durliam,  vol.  ii.  p.  489. 


36  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

to  perform  the  solemn  duties  of  the  cathedral  in  place  oi 
secular  clergy,  and  William  the  Conqueror  had  ordained 
that  the  priors  of  Durham  should  enjoy  all  the  lib 
erties,  dignities,  and  honors  of  abbots;  should  hold 
their  lands  and  churches  in  their  own  hands  and  free 
disposition,  and  have  the  abbot's  seat  on  the  left  side 
of  the  choir — thus  taking  rank  of  every  one  but  the 
bishop.* 

In  the  course  of  three  centuries  and  upwards,  which 
had  since  elapsed,  these  honors  and  privileges  had  been 
subject  to  repeated  dispute  and  encroachment,  and  the 
prior  had  nearly  been  elbowed  out  of  the  abbot's  chair 
by  the  archdeacon.  John  de  Wessyngton  was  not  a  man 
to  submit  tamely  to  such  infringements  of  his  rights.  He 
forthwith  set  himself  up  as  the  champion  of  his  priory, 
and  in  a  learned  tract,  "De  Juribus  et  Possessionibus 
Eeclesise  Dunelm,"  established  the  validity  of  the  long 
controverted  claims,  and  fixed  himself  firmly  in  the  ab 
bot's  chair.  His  success  in  this  controversy  gained  him 
much  renown  among  his  brethren  of  the  cowl,  and  in  1426 
he  presided  at  the  general  chapter  of  the  order  of  St. 
Benedict,  held  at  Northampton. 

The  stout  prior  of  Durham  had  other  disputes  with  the 
bishop  and  the  secular  clergy  touching  his  ecclesiastical 
functions,  in  which  he  was  equally  victorious,  and  several 
tracts  remain  in  manuscript  in  the  dean  and  chapter's 

*Dugdale,  Monasticon  Anglicanum,  torn.  i.  p.  231.    London,  ed.  1846. 


GENEALOGY.  37 

library — weapons  hung  up  in  the  church  armory  as  me 
morials  of  his  polemical  battles. 

Finally,  after  fighting  divers  good  fights  for  the  honor 
of  his  priory,  and  filling  the  abbot's  chair  for  thirty 
years,  he  died,  to  use  an  ancient  phrase,  "in  all  the  odor 
of  sanctity,"  in  1446,  and  was  buried  like  a  soldier  on  his 
battle-field,  at  the  door  of  the  north  aisle  of  his  church, 
near  to  the  altar  of  St.  Benedict.  On  his  tombstone  was 
an  inscription  in  brass,  now  unfortunately  obliterated, 
which  may  have  set  forth  the  valiant  deeds  of  this  Wash^ 
ington  of  the  cloisters.* 

By  this  time  the  primitive  stock  of  the  De  Wessyngtons 
had  separated  into  divers  branches,  holding  estates  in 
various  parts  of  England;  some  distinguishing  them 
selves  in  the  learned  professions,  others  receiving  knight 
hood  for  public  services.  Their  names  are  to  be  found 
honorably  recorded  in  county  histories,  or  engraved  on 
monuments  in  time-worn  churches  and  cathedrals,  those 
garnering  places  of  English  worthies.  By  degrees  the 
seignorial  sign  of  de  disappeared  from  before  the  family 
surname,  which  also  varied  from  Wessyngton  to  Wassing- 
ton,  Wasshington,  and  finally,  to  Washington.!  A  parish 

*  Hutehinson's  Durham,  vol.  ii.  passim. 

\  "  The  de  came  to  be  omitted,"  says  an  old  treatise,  "  when  English 
men  and  English  manners  began  to  prevail  upon  the  recovery  of  lost 
credit." — Restitution  of  Decayed  Intelligence  in  Antiquities.  Lond. 
1634. 

About  the  time  of  Henry  VI.,  says  another  treatise,  the  de  or  <T  was 
generally  dropped  from  surnames,  when  the  title  of  armiger,  esquier. 


38  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

in  the  county  of  Durham  bears  the  name  as  last  written, 
and  in  this  probably  the  ancient  manor  of  Wessyngtou 
was  situated.  There  is  another  parish  of  the  name  in  the 
county  of  Sussex. 

The  branch  of  the  family  to  which  our  Washington 
immediately  belongs  sprang  from  Laurence  Washington, 
Esquire,  of  Gray's  Inn,  son  of  John  Washington,  of  War- 
ton,  in  Lancashire.  This  Laurence  Washington  was  for 
some  time  mayor  of  Northampton,  and  on  the  dissolution 
of  the  priories  by  Henry  VIII.  he  received,  in  1538,  a 
grant  of  the  manor  of  Sulgrave,  in  Northamptonshire, 
with  other  lands  in  the  vicinity,  all  confiscated  property 
formerly  belonging  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Andrew's. 

Sulgrave  remained  in  the  family  until  1620,  and  was 
commonly  called  "  Washington's  manor."  * 

amongst  the  heads  of  families,  and  generosus,  or  g&ntylman,  among 
younger  sons  was  substituted.  Lower,  on  Surnames,  vol.  i. 

*  The  manor  of  Garsdon  in  Wiltshire  has  been  mentioned  as  the  home 
stead  of  the  ancestors  of  our  Washington.  This  was  the  residence  of  Sir 
Laurence  Washington,  second  son  of  the  above-mentioned  grantee  of 
Sulgrave.  Elizabeth,  granddaughter  of  this  Sir  Laurence,  married  Rob 
ert  Shirley,  Earl  Ferrers  and  Viscount  of  Tamworth.  Washington  be 
came  a  baptismal  name  among  the  Shirleys  ;  several  of  the  Earls  Ferrers 
have  borne  it. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  visited  Sulgrave  a  few  years  since.  It  was  in 
a  quiet  rural  neighborhood,  where  the  farm-houses  were  quaint  and  an 
tiquated.  A  part  only  of  the  manor  house  remained,  and  was  inhabited 
by  a  farmer.  The  Washington  crest,  in  colored  glass,  was  to  be  seen  in  a 
window  of  what  was  now  the  buttery.  A  window  on  which  the  whole 
family  arms  was  emblazoned  had  been  removed  to  the  residence  of  the 
actual  proprietor  of  the  manor.  Another  relic  of  the  ancient  manor  of 
the  Washingtons  was  a  rookery  in  a  venerable  grove  hard  by.  The  rooka 


GENEALOGY.  39 

One  of  the  direct  descendants  of  the  grantee  of  Sul- 
grave  was  Sir  William  Washington,  of  Packington,  in 
the  county  of  Kent.  He  married  a  sister  of  George  Vil- 
liers,  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  unfortunate  favorite  of 
Charles  I.  This  may  have  attached  the  Sulgrave  Wash- 
ingtons  to  the  Stuart  dynasty,  to  which  they  adhered 
loyally  and  generously  throughout  all  its  vicissitudes. 
One  of  the  family,  Lieutenant-colonel  James  Washington, 
took  up  arms  in  the  cause  of  King  Charles,  and  lost  his 
life  at  the  siege  of  Pontefract  castle.  Another  of  the 
Sulgrave  line,  Sir  Henry  Washington,  son  and  heir  of  Sir 
William,  before  mentioned,  exhibited  in  the  civil  wars  the 
old  chivalrous  spirit  of  the  knights  of  the  palatinate.  He 
served  under  Prince  Eupert  at  the  storming  of  Bristol,  in 
1643,  and  when  the  assailants  were  beaten  off  at  every 
point,  he  broke  in  with  a  handful  of  infantry  at  a  weak 
part  of  the  wall,  made  room  for  the  horse  to  follow,  and 
opened  a  path  to  victory.* 

He  distinguished  himself  still  more  in  1646,  when  ele 
vated  to  the  command  of  Worcester,  the  governor  having 
been  captured  by  the  enemy.  It  was  a  time  of  confusion 
and  dismay.  The  king  had  fled  from  Oxford  in  disguise 
and  gone  to  the  parliamentary  camp  at  Newark.  The 

those  stanch  adherents  to  old  family  abodes,  still  hovered  and  cawea 
about  their  hereditary  nests.  In  the  pavement  of  the  parish  church  we 
were  shown  a  stone  slab  bearing  effigies  on  plates  of  brass  of  Laurence 
Washington,  gent.,  and  Anne  his  wife,  and  their  four  sons  and  eleven 
daughters.  The  inscription  in  black  letter  was  dated  1564 
*  Clarendon,  book  vii. 


40  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

royal  cause  was  desperate.  In  this  crisis  Sir  Henry 
received  a  letter  from  Fairfax,  who,  with  his  victorious 
army  was  at  Haddington,  demanding  the  surrender  of 
Worcester.  The  following  was  Colonel  Washington's 

reply :  — 

"  SIR, — It  is  acknowledged  by  your  books  and  by  re 
port  of  your  own  quarter,  that  the  king  is  in  some  of 
your  armies.  That  granted,  it  may  be  easy  for  you  to 
procure  his  Majesty's  commands  for  the  disposal  of  this 
garrison.  Till  then  I  shall  make  good  the  trust  reposed 
in  me.  As  for  conditions,  if  I  shall  be  necessitated,  I 
shall  make  the  best  I  can.  The  worst  I  know  and  fear 
not ;  if  I  had,  the  profession  of  a  soldier  had  not  been 
begun,  nor  so  long  continued  by  your  Excellency's  hum 
ble  servant, 

"HENRY  WASHINGTON."  * 

In  a  few  days  Colonel  Whalley  invested  the  city  with 
five  thousand  troops.  Sir  Henry  despatched  messenger 
after  messenger  in  quest  of  the  king  to  know  his  pleas 
ure.  None  of  them  returned.  A  female  emissary  was 
equally  unavailing.  Week  after  week  elapsed,  until 
nearly  three  months  had  expired.  Provisions  began  to 
fail.  The  city  was  in  confusion.  The  troops  grew  insub 
ordinate.  Yet  Sir  Henry  persisted  in  the  defense.  Gen* 

*  Greene's  Antiquities  of  Worcester,  p.  273. 


GENEALOGY.  41 

eral  Fairfax,  with  1,500  horse,  and  foot,  was  daily  ex 
pected.  There  was  not  powder  enough  for  an  hour's 
contest  should  the  city  be  stormed.  Still  Sir  Henry 
"awaited  His  Majesty's  commands." 

At  length  news  arrived  that  the  king  had  issued  an  or 
der  for  the  surrender  of  all  towns,  castles,  and  forts.  A 
printed  copy  of  the  order  was  shown  to  Sir  Henry,  and 
on  the  faith  of  that  document  he  capitulated  (19th  July, 
1646)  on  honorable  terms,  won  by  his  fortitude  and  per 
severance.  Those  who  believe  in  hereditary  virtues  may 
see  foreshadowed  in  the  conduct  of  this  Washington  of 
Worcester,  the  magnanimous  constancy  of  purpose,  the 
disposition  to  "  hope  against  hope,"  which  bore  our 
Washington  triumphantly  through  the  darkest  days  of 
our  Revolution. 

We  have  little  note  of  the  Sulgrave  branch  of  the 
family  after  the  death  of  Charles  I.  and  the  exile  of  his 
successor.  England,  during  the  Protectorate,  became  an 
uncomfortable  residence  to  such  as  had  signalized  them 
selves  as  adherents  to  the  house  of  Stuart.  In  1655,  an 
attempt  at  a  general  insurrection  drew  on  them  the  ven 
geance  of  Cromwell.  Many  of  their  party  who  had  no 
share  in  the  conspiracy,  yet  sought  refuge  in  other  lands, 
where  they  might  live  free  from  molestation.  This  may 
have  been  the  case  with  two  brothers,  John  and  Andrew 
Washington,  great-grandsons  of  the  grantee  of  Sulgrave, 
and  uncles  of  Sir  Henry,  the  gallant  defender  of  Worces 
ter.  John  had  for  some  time  resided  at  South  Cave,  in 


42  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  East  Biding  of  Yorkshire  ;  *  but  now  emigrated  with 
his  brother  to  Virginia,  which  colony,  from  its  allegiance 
to  the  exiled  monarch  and  the  Anglican  Church,  had  be-= 
come  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Cavaliers.  The  brothers 
arrived  in  Virginia  in  1657,  and  purchased  lands  in  West 
moreland  County,  on  the  Northern  Neck,  between  the 
Potomac  and  Rappahannock  rivers.  John  married  a 
Miss  Anne  Pope,  of  the  same  county,  and  took  up  his 
residence  on  Bridges  Creek,  near  where  it  falls  into  the 
Potomac.  He  became  an  extensive  planter,  and,  in  pro 
cess  of  time,  a  magistrate  and  member  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses.  Having  a  spark  of  the  old  military  fire  of 
the  family,  we  find  him,  as  Colonel  Washington,  leading 
the  Virginia  forces,  in  cooperation  with  those  of  Mary 
land,  against  a  band  of  Seneca  Indians,  who  were  ravag 
ing  the  settlements  along  the  Potomac.  In  honor  of  his 
public  services  and  private  virtues  the  parish  in  which  he 
resided  was  called  after  him,  and  still  bears  the  name  of 
Washington.  He  lies  buried  in  a  vault  on  Bridges  Creek, 
which,  for  generations,  was  the  family  place  of  sepulture. 
The  estate  continued  in  the  family.  His  grandson  Au 
gustine,  the  father  of  our  Washington,  was  born  there  in 
1694  He  was  twice  married ;  first  (April  20th,  1715),  to 
Jane,  daughter  of  Caleb  Butler,  Esq.,  of  Westmoreland 


*  South  Cave  is  near  the  Humber.  "  In  the  vicinity  is  Cave  Castle,  an 
embattled  edifice.  It  has  a  noble  collection  of  paintings,  including  a 
portrait  of  General  Washington,  whose  ancestors  possessed  a  portion  of 
the  estate." — Lewes,  Topog.  Diet.  vol.  i.  p.  530. 


GENEALOGY.  43 

County,  by  whom  he  had  four  children,  of  whom  only 
two,  Lawrence  and  Augustine,  survived  the  years  of 
childhood ;  their  mother  died  November  24th,  1728,  and 
was  buried  in  the  family  vault. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1730,  he  married  in  second  nup 
tials,  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Ball,  a  young  and 
beautiful  girl,  said  to  be  the  belle  of  the  Northern  Neck. 
By  her  he  had  four  sons,  George,  Samuel,  John  Augus 
tine,  and  Charles;  and  two  daughters,  Elizabeth,  or 
Betty,  as  she  was  commonly  called,  and  Mildred,  who 
died  in  infancy. 

George,  the  eldest,  the  subject  of  this  biography,  was 
born  on  the  22d  of  February  ( llth,  O.  S. ),  1732,  in  the 
homestead  on  Bridges  Creek.  This  house  commanded  a 
view  over  many  miles  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  opposite 
shore  of  Maryland.  It  had  probably  been  purchased 
with  the  property,  and  was  one  of  the  primitive  farm 
houses  of  Virginia.  The  roof  was  steep,  and  sloped  down 
into  low  projecting  eaves.  It  had  four  rooms  on  the 
ground  floor,  and  others  in  the  attic,  and  an  immense 
chimney  at  each  end.  Not  a  vestige  of  it  remains.  Two 
or  three  decayed  fig-trees,  with  shrubs  and  vines,  linger 
about  the  place,  and  here  and  there  a  flower  grown  wild 
serves  "to  mark  where  a  garden  has  been."  Such,  at 
least,  was  the  case  a  few  years  since  ;  but  these  may  have 
likewise  passed  away.  A  stone*  marks  the  site  of  the 

*  Placed  there  by  George  W.  P.  Custis,  Esq. 


44  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

house,  and  an  inscription  denotes  its  being  the  birth 
place  of  Washington. 

We  have  entered  with  some  minuteness  into  this  gen 
ealogical  detail,  tracing  the  family  step  by  step  through 
the  pages  of  historical  documents  for  upwards  of  six 
centuries ;  and  we  have  been  tempted  to  do  so  by  the 
documentary  proofs  it  gives  of  the  lineal  and  enduring 
worth  of  the  race.  We  have  shown  that,  for  many  gen 
erations,  and  through  a  variety  of  eventful  scenes,  it  has 
maintained  an  equality  of  fortune  and  respectability,  and 
whenever  brought  to  the  test  has  acquitted  itself  with 
honor  and  loyalty.  Hereditary  rank  may  be  an  illusion ; 
but  hereditary  virtue  gives  a  patent  of  innate  nobleness 
beyond  all  the  blazonry  of  the  Heralds'  College. 


CHAPTEE  K 

THE  HOME  OP  WASHINGTON'S  BOYHOOD. — HIS  EAR1TT  EDUCATION. — LAWRENCE 
WASHINGTON  AND  HIS  CAMPAIGN  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. — DEATH  OF  WASH 
INGTON'S  FATHER. — THE  WIDOWED  MOTHER  AND  HER  CHILDREN. — SCHOOL 
EXERCISES. 

OT  long  after  the  birth,  of  George,  his  father  re 
moved  to  an  estate  in  Stafford  County,  opposite 
Fredericksburg.  The  house  was  similar  in  style 
to  the  one  at  Bridges  Creek,  and  stood  on  a  rising  ground 
overlooking  a  meadow  which  bordered  the  Rappahannock. 
This  was  the  home  of  George's  boyhood ;  the  meadow 
was  his  play-ground,  and  the  scene  of  his  early  athletic 
sports;  but  this  home,  like  that  in  which  he  was  born, 
has  disappeared ;  the  site  is  only  to  be  traced  by  frag 
ments  of  bricks,  china,  and  earthenware. 

In  those  days  the  means  of  instruction  in  Virginia  were 
limited,  and  it  was  the  custom  among  the  wealthy  plant 
ers  to  send  their  sons  to  England  to  complete  their  edu 
cation.  This  was  done  by  Augustine  Washington  with 
his  eldest  son  Lawrence,  then  about  fifteen  years  of  age, 
and  whom  he  no  doubt  considered  the  future  head  of  the 
family.  George  was  yet  in  early  childhood :  as  his  intel 
lect  dawned  he  received  the  rudiments  of  education  in 

45 


46  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  best  establishment  for  the  purpose  that  the  neighbor 
hood  afforded.  It  was  what  was  called,  in  popular  par 
lance,  an  "  old  field  school-house  ; "  humble  enough  in  its 
pretensions,  and  kept  by  one  of  his  father's  tenants 
named  Hobby,  who,  moreover,  was  sexton  of  the  parish. 
The  instruction  doled  out  by  him  must  have  been  of  the 
simplest  kind,  reading,  writing,  and  ciphering,  perhaps ; 
but  George  had  the  benefit  of  mental  and  moral  culture 
at  home,  from  an  excellent  father. 

Several  traditional  anecdotes  have  been  given  to  the 
world,  somewhat  prolix  and  trite,  but  illustrative  of  the 
familiar  and  practical  manner  in  which  Augustine  Wash 
ington,  in  the  daily  intercourse  of  domestic  life,  impressed 
the  ductile  mind  of  his  child  with  high  maxims  of  relig 
ion  and  virtue,  and  imbued  him  with  a  spirit  of  justice 
and  generosity,  and,  above  all,  a  scrupulous  love  of  truth. 

When  George  was  about  seven  or  eight  years  old  his 
brother  Lawrence  returned  from  England,  a  well-educated 
and  accomplished  youth.  There  was  a  difference  of  four 
teen  years  in  their  ages,  which  may  have  been  one  cause 
of  the  strong  attachment  which  took  place  between  them. 
Lawrence  looked  down  with  a  protecting  eye  upon  the 
boy  whose  dawning  intelligence  and  perfect  rectitude  won 
his  regard ;  while  George  looked  up  to  his  manly  and 
cultivated  brother  as  a  model  in  mind  and  manners.  We 
call  particular  attention  to  this  brotherly  interchange  of 
affection,  from  the  influence  it  had  on  all  the  future  career 
of  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 


LAWRENCE   WASHINGTON.  47 

Lawrence  Washington  had  something  of  the  old  mili 
tary  spirit  of  the  family,  and  circumstances  soon  called 
it  into  action.  Spanish  depredations  on  British  com 
merce  had  recently  provoked  reprisals.  Admiral  Vernon, 
commander-in-chief  in  the  West  Indies,  had  accordingly 
captured  Porto  Bello,  on  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  The 
Spaniards  were  preparing  to  revenge  the  blow ;  the 
French  were  fitting  out  ships  to  aid  them.  Troops  were 
embarked  in  England  for  another  campaign  in  the  West 
Indies  ;  a  regiment  of  four  battalions  was  to  be  raised  in 
the  colonies  and  sent  to  join  them  at  Jamaica.  There 
was  a  sudden  outbreak  of  military  ardor  in  the  province  ; 
the  sound  of  drum  and  fife  was  heard  in  the  villages,  with 
the  parade  of  recruiting  parties.  Lawrence  Washington, 
now  twenty-two  years  of  age,  caught  the  infection.  He 
obtained  a  captain's  commission  in  the  newly  raised  regi 
ment,  and  embarked  with  it  for  the  West  Indies  in  1740. 
He  served  in  the  joint  expeditions  of  Admiral  Vernon 
and  General  Wentworth,  in  the  land  forces  commanded 
by  the  latter,  and  acquired  the  friendship  and  confidence 
of  both  of  those  officers.  He  was  present  at  the  siege  of 
Carthagena,  when  it  was  bombarded  by  the  fleet,  and 
when  the  troops  attempted  to  escalade  the  citadel.  It 
was  an  ineffectual  attack  ;  the  ships  could  not  get  near 
enough  to  throw  their  shells  into  the  town,  and  the  scal 
ing-ladders  proved  too  short.  That  part  of  the  attack, 
however,  with  which  Lawrence  was  concerned,  distin 
guished  itself  by  its  bravery.  The  troops  sustained  un- 


48  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

flinching  a  destructive  fire  for  several  hours,  and  at 
length  retired  with  honor,  their  small  force  having  sus 
tained  a  loss  of  about  six  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded. 

We  have  here  the  secret  of  that  martial  spirit  so  often 
cited  of  George  in  his  boyish  days.  He  had  seen  his 
brother  fitted  out  for  the  wars.  He  had  heard  by  letter 
and  otherwise  of  the  warlike  scenes  in  which  he  was 
mingling.  All  his  amusements  took  a  military  turn.  He 
made  soldiers  of  his  schoolmates  ;  they  had  their  mimic 
parades,  reviews,  and  sham  fights  ;  a  boy  named  William 
Bustle  was  sometimes  his  competitor,  but  George  was 
commander-in-chief  of  Hobby's  school. 

Lawrence  Washington  returned  home  in  the  autumn  of 
1742,  the  campaigns  in  the  West  Indies  being  ended,  and 
Admiral  Vernon  and  General  Wentworth  being  recalled 
to  England.  It  was  the  intention  of  Lawrence  to  rejoin 
his  regiment  in  that  country,  and  seek  promotion  in  the 
army,  but  circumstances  completely  altered  his  plans. 
He  formed  an  attachment  to  Anne,  the  eldest  daughter 
of  the  Honorable  William  Fairfax,  of  Fairfax  County ; 
his  addresses  were  well  received,  and  they  became  en 
gaged.  Their  nuptials  were  delayed  by  the  sudden  and 
untimely  death  of  his  father,  which  took  place  on  the 
12th  of  April,  1743,  after  a  short  but  severe  attack  of 
gout  in  the  stomach,  and  when  but  forty-nine  years  of 
age.  George  had  been  absent  from  home  on  a  visit  dur 
ing  his  father's  illness,  and  just  returned  in  time  to  re* 
eeive  a  parting  look  of  affection. 


WASHINGTON'S  MOTHER.  49 

Augustine  Washington  left  large  possessions,  dis 
tributed  by  will  among  his  children.  To  Lawrence,  the 
estate  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  with  other  real 
property,  and  several  shares  in  iron  works.  To  Augus 
tine,  the  second  son  by  the  first  marriage,  the  old  home 
stead  and  estate  in  Westmoreland.  The  children  by  the 
second  marriage  were  severally  well  provided  for,  and 
George,  when  he  became  of  age,  was  to  have  the  house 
and  lands  on  the  Rappahannock. 

In  the  month  of  July  the  marriage  of  Lawrence  with 
Miss  Fairfax  took  place.  He  now  gave  up  all  thoughts 
of  foreign  service,  and  settled  himself  on  his  estate  on  the 
banks  of  the  Potomac,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
MOUNT  YEKNON,  in  honor  of  the  Admiral. 

Augustine  took  up  his  abode  at  the  homestead  on 
Bridges  Creek,  and  married  Anne,  daughter  and  co 
heiress  of  William  Aylett,  Esquire,  of  Westmoreland 
County. 

George,  now  eleven  years  of  age,  and  the  other  chil 
dren  of  the  second  marriage,  had  been  left  under  the 
guardianship  of  their  mother,  to  whom  was  intrusted  the 
proceeds  of  all  their  property  until  they  should  severally 
come  of  age.  She  proved  herself  worthy  of  the  trust. 
Endowed  with  plain,  direct  good  sense,  thorough  conscien 
tiousness,  and  prompt  decision,  she  governed  her  family 
strictly,  but  kindly,  exacting  deference  while  she  inspired 
affection.  George,  being  her  eldest  son,  was  thought  to 
be  her  favorite,  yet  she  never  gave  him  undue  preference, 
VOL.  i. — i 


50  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  the  implicit  deference  exacted  from  him  in  childhood 
continued  to  be  habitually  observed  by  him  to  the  day  oJ 
her  death.  He  inherited  from  her  a  high  temper  and  a 
spirit  of  command,  but  her  early  precepts  and  example 
taught  him  to  restrain  and  govern  that  temper,  and  to 
square  his  conduct  on  the  exact  principles  of  equity  and 
justice. 

Tradition  gives  an  interesting  picture  of  the  widow, 
with  her  little  flock  gathered  round  her,  as  was  hei 
daily  wont,  reading  to  them  lessons  of  religion  and  mo 
rality  out  of  some  standard  work.  Her  favorite  volume 
was  Sir  Matthew  Hale's  Contemplations,  moral  and 
divine.  The  admirable  maxims  therein  contained,  foi 
outward  action  as  well  as  self-government,  sank  deep 
into  the  mind  of  George,  and,  doubtless,  had  a  great  in 
fluence  in  forming  his  character.  They  certainly  were 
exemplified  in  his  conduct  throughout  life.  This  mother's 
manual,  bearing  his  mother's  name,  Mary  Washington, 
written  with  her  own  hand,  was  ever  preserved  by  him 
with  filial  care,  and  may  still  be  seen  in  the  archives  oi 
Mount  Vernon.  A  precious  document !  Let  those  whc 
wish  to  know  the  moral  foundation  of  his  character  con 
sult  its  pages. 

Having  no  longer  the  benefit  of  a  father's  instructions 
at  home,  and  the  scope  of  tuition  of  Hobby,  the  sexton, 
being  too  limited  for  the  growing  wants  of  his  pupil, 
George  was  now  sent  to  reside  with  Augustine  Washing 
ton,  at  Bridges  Creek,  and  enjoy  the  benefit  of  a  superioi 


SCHOOL  EXERCISES.  51 

school  in  that  neighborhood,  kept  by  a  Mr.  Williams.  His 
education,  however,  was  plain  and  practical.  He  never 
attempted  the  learned  languages,  nor  manifested  any  in 
clination  for  rhetoric  or  belles-lettres.  His  object,  or  the 
object  of  his  friends,  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  fit 
ting  him  for  ordinary  business.  His  manuscript  school- 
books  still  exist,  and  are  models  of  neatness  and  accu 
racy.  One  of  them,  it  is  true,  a  ciphering-book,  preserved 
in  the  library  at  Mount  Yernon,  has  some  school-boy 
attempts  at  calligraphy :  nondescript  birds,  executed 
with  a  flourish  of  the  pen,  or  profiles  of  faces,  probably 
intended  for  those  of  his  schoolmates ;  the  rest  are  all 
grave  and  business-like.  Before  he  was  thirteen  years 
of  age  he  had  copied  into  a  volume  forms  for  all  kinds  of 
mercantile  and  legal  papers ;  bills  of  exchange,  notes  of 
hand,  deeds,  bonds,  and  the  like.  This  early  self-tui 
tion  gave  him  throughout  life  a  lawyer's  skill  in  draft 
ing  documents,  and  a  merchant's  exactness  in  keeping 
accounts ;  so  that  all  the  concerns  of  his  various  estates, 
his  dealings  with  his  domestic  stewards  and  foreign 
agents,  his  accounts  with  government,  and  all  his  finan 
cial  transactions  are  to  this  day  to  be  seen  posted  up  in 
books,  in  his  own  handwriting,  monuments  oi  his  method 
and  unwearied  accuracy. 

He  was  a  self-disciplinarian  in  physical  as  well  as 
mental  matters,  and  practiced  himself  in  all  kinds  of 
athletic  exercises,  such  as  running,,  leaping,  wrestling, 
pitching  quoits,  and  tossing  bars.  His  frame  even  in 


52  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

infancy  had  been  large  and  powerful,  and  he  now  ei« 
celled  most  of  his  playmates  in  contests  of  agility  and 
strength.  As  a  proof  of  his  muscular  power,  a  place 
is  still  pointed  out  at  Fredericksburg,  near  the  lower 
ferry,  where,  when  a  boy,  he  flung  a  stone  across  the 
Rappahannock.  In  horsemanship,  too,  he  already  excel 
led,  and  was  ready  to  back  and  able  to  manage  the  most 
fiery  steed.  Traditional  anecdotes  remain  of  his  achieve 
ments  in  this  respect. 

Above  all,  his  inherent  probity  and  the  principles  of 
justice  on  which  he  regulated  all  his  conduct,  even  at 
this  early  period  of  life,  were  soon  appreciated  by  his 
schoolmates ;  he  was  referred  to  as  an  umpire  in  their 
disputes,  and  his  decisions  were  never  reversed.  As  he 
had  formerly  been  military  chieftain,  he  was  now  legis 
lator  of  the  school ;  thus  displaying  in  boyhood  a  type  oi 
the  future  man. 


CHAPTEE  HI. 

PATERNAL,    CONDUCT    OF     AN     ELDER      BROTHER.  —  THE     FAIRFAX     FAMILY.-^ 

WASHINGTON'S  CODE  OF  MORALS  AND  MANNERS.  —  SOLDIERS'  TALES.— 
THEIR  INFLUENCE.  —  WASHINGTON  PREPARES  FOR  THE  NAVY.  —  A  MOTH 
ER'S  OBJECTIONS.— RETURN  TO  SCHOOL.— STUDIES  AND  EXERCISES.— A 
SCHOOL-BOY  PASSION. — THE  LOWLAND  BEAUTY. — LOVE  DITTIES  AT  MOUNT 
VERNON.  —  VISIT  TO  BELVOIR. — LORD  FAIRFAX.  —  HIS  CHARACTER.  —  FOX 
HUNTING  A  REMEDY  FOR  LOVE. — PROPOSITION  FOR  A  SURVEYING  EXPEDI 
TION. 


HE  attachment  of  Lawrence  Washington  to  his 
brother  George  seems  to  have  acquired  addi 
tional  strength  and  tenderness  on  their  father's 
death ;  he  now  took  a  truly  paternal  interest  in  his  con 
cerns,  and  had  him  as  frequently  as  possible  a  guest  at 
Mount  Vernon.  Lawrence  had  deservedly  become  a  pop 
ular  and  leading  personage  in  the  country.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  Adjutant-general 
of  the  district,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and  a  regular 
salary.  A  frequent  sojourn  with  him  brought  George 
into  familiar  intercourse  with  the  family  of  his  father-in- 
law,  the  Hon.  William  Fairfax,  who  resided  at  a  beauti 
ful  seat  called  Belvoir,  a  few  miles  below  Mount  Yernon, 
and  on  the  same  woody  ridge  bordering  the  Potomac. 
William  Fairfax  was  a  man  of  liberal  education  and 


54  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

intrinsic  worth ;  he  had  seen  much  of  the  world,  and  his 
mind  had  been  enriched  and  ripened  by  varied  and  ad 
venturous  experience.  Of  an  ancient  English  family  in 
Yorkshire,  he  had  entered  the  army  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  ;  had  served  with  honor  both  in  the  East  and  West 
Indies,  and  officiated  as  Governor  of  New  Providence; 
after  having  aided  in  rescuing  it  from  pirates.  For  some 
years  past  he  had  resided  in  Virginia,  to  manage  the 
immense  landed  estates  of  his  cousin,  Lord  Fairfax,  and 
lived  at  Belvoir  in  the  style  of  an  English  country  gen 
tleman,  surrounded  by  an  intelligent  and  cultivated  fam 
ily  of  sons  and  daughters. 

An  intimacy  with  a  family  like  this,  in  which  the  frank 
ness  and  simplicity  of  rural  and  colonial  life  were  united 
with  European  refinement,  could  not  but  have  a  benefi 
cial  effect  in  moulding  the  character  and  manners  of  a 
somewhat  home-bred  school-boy.  It  was  probably  his 
intercourse  with  them,  and  his  ambition  to  acquit  him 
self  well  in  their  society,  that  set  him  upon  compiling  a 
code  of  morals  and  manners  which  still  exists  in  a  manu 
script  in  his  own  handwriting,  entitled  "Rules  for  Be 
havior  in  Company  and  Conversation."  It  is  extremely 
minute  and  circumstantial.  Some  of  the  rules  for  per 
sonal  deportment  extend  to  such  trivial  matters,  and  are 
so  quaint  and  formal  as  almost  to  provoke  a  smile ;  but, 
in  the  main,  a  better  manual  of  conduct  could  not  be  put 
into  the  hands  of  a  youth.  The  whole  code  evinces  that 
rigid  propriety  and  self-control  to  which  he  subjected 


SOLDIERS'   TALES.  55 

himself,  and  by  which  he  brought  all  the  impulses  of 
a  somewhat  ardent  temper  under  conscientious  govern 
ment. 

Other  influences  were  brought  to  bear  on  George  dur 
ing  his  visit  at  Mount  Vernon.  His  brother  Lawrence 
still  retained  some  of  his  military  inclinations,  fostered, 
no  doubt,  by  his  post  of  Adjutant-general.  "William  Fair 
fax,  as  we  have  shown,  had  been  a  soldier,  and  in  many 
trying  scenes.  Some  of  Lawrence's  comrades,  of  the 
provincial  regiment,  who  had  served  with  him  in  the 
West  Indies,  were  occasional  visitors  at  Mount  Vernon ; 
or  a  ship  of  war,  possibly  one  of  Vernon's  old  fleet,  would 
anchor  in  the  Potomac,  and  its  oflicers  be  welcome  guests 
at  the  tables  of  Lawrence  and  his  father-in-law.  Thus 
military  scenes  on  sea  and  shore  would  become  the  topics 
of  conversation.  The  capture  of  Porto  Bello ;  the  bom* 
bardment  of  Carthagena ;  old  stories  of  cruisings  in  the 
East  and  West  Indies,  and  campaigns  against  the  pirates. 
We  can  picture  to  ourselves  George,  a  grave  and  earnest 
boy,  with  an  expanding  intellect,  and  a  deep-seated  pas 
sion  for  enterprise,  listening  to  such  conversations  with  a 
kindling  spirit  and  a  growing  desire  for  military  life.  In 
this  way  most  probably  was  produced  that  desire  to  enter 
the  navy  which  he  evinced  when  about  fourteen  years  of 
age.  The  opportunity  for  gratifying  it  appeared  at  hand. 
Ships  of  war  frequented  the  colonies,  and  at  times,  as  we 
have  hinted,  were  anchored  in  the  Potomac.  The  incli 
nation  was  encouraged  by  Lawrence  Washington  and  Mr. 


56  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Fairfax.  Lawrence  retained  pleasant  recollections  of  his 
cruisings  in  the  fleet  of  Admiral  Vernon,  and  considered 
the  naval  service  a  popular  path  to  fame  and  fortune. 
George  was  at  a  suitable  age  to  enter  the  navy.  The 
great  difficulty  was  to  procure  the  assent  of  his  mother. 
She  was  brought,  however,  to  acquiesce  ;  a  midshipman's 
warrant  was  obtained,  and  it  is  even  said  that  the  luggage 
of  the  youth  was  actually  on  board  of  a  man  of  war,  an 
chored  in  the  river  just  below  Mount  Yernon. 

At  the  eleventh  hour  the  mother's  heart  faltered.  This 
was  her  eldest  born.  A  son,  whose  strong  and  steadfast 
character  promised  to  be  a  support  to  herself  and  a  pro 
tection  to  her  other  children.  The  thought  of  his  being 
completely  severed  from  her  and  exposed  to  the  hard 
ships  and  perils  of  a  boisterous  profession,  overcame  even 
her  resolute  mind,  and  at  her  urgent  remonstrances  the 
nautical  scheme  was  given  up. 

To  school,  therefore,  George  returned,  and  continued 
his  studies  for  nearly  two  years  longer,  devoting  himself 
especially  to  mathematics,  and  accomplishing  himself  in 
those  branches  calculated  to  fit  him  either  for  civil  or 
military  service.  Among  these,  one  of  the  most  impor 
tant  in  the  actual  state  of  the  country  was  land  surveying. 
In  this  he  schooled  himself  thoroughly,  using  the  highest 
processes  of  the  art ;  making  surveys  about  the  neighbor 
hood,  and  keeping  regular  field  books,  some  of  which  we 
have  examined,  in  which  the  boundaries  and  measure 
ments  of  the  fields  surveyed  were  carefully  entered,  and 


A   SCHOOL-BOY  PASSION.  57 

diagrams  made,  with  a  neatness  and  exactness  as  if  the 
whole  related  to  important  land  transactions  instead  ol 
being  mere  school  exercises.  Thus,  in  his  earliest  days, 
there  was  perseverance  and  completeness  in  all  his  under 
takings.  Nothing  was  left  half  done,  or  done  in  a  hurried 
and  slovenly  manner.  The  habit  of  mind  thus  cultivated 
continued  throughout  life ;  so  that  however  complicated 
his  tasks  and  overwhelming  his  cares,  in  the  arduous  and 
hazardous  situations  in  which  he  was  often  placed,  he 
found  time  to  do  everything,  and  to  do  it  well.  He  had 
acquired  the  magic  of  method,  which  of  itself  works 
wonders. 

In  one  of  these  manuscript  memorials  of  his  practical 
studies  and  exercises,  we  have  come  upon  some  docu 
ments  singularly  in  contrast  with  all  that  we  have  just 
cited,  and  with  his  apparently  unromantic  character.  In 
a  word,  there  are  evidences  in  his  own  handwriting,  that, 
before  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  had  conceived  a 
passion  for  some  unknown  beauty,  so  serious  as  to  dis 
turb  his  otherwise  well-regulated  mind,  and  to  make  him 
really  unhappy.  Why  this  juvenile  attachment  was  a 
source  of  unhappiness  we  have  no  positive  means  of  as 
certaining.  Perhaps  the  object  of  it  may  have  considered 
him  a  mere  school-boy,  and  treated  him  as  such ;  or  his 
own  shyness  may  have  been  in  his  way,  and  his  "  rules 
for  behavior  and  conversation  "  may  as  yet  have  sat  awk 
wardly  on  him,  and  rendered  him  formal  and  ungainly 
when  he  most  sought  *o  please.  Even  in  later  years  he 


58  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

was  apt  to  be  silent  and  embarrassed  in  female  society 
"  He  was  a  very  bashful  young  man,"  said  an  old  lady, 
whom  he  used  to  visit  when  they  were  both  in  their 
nonage.  "I  used  often  to  wish  that  he  would  talk 


more." 


Whatever  may  have  been  the  reason,  this  early  attach 
ment  seems  to  have  been  a  source  of  poignant  discom 
fort  to  him.  It  clung  to  him  after  he  took  a  final  leave 
of  school  in  the  autumn  of  1747,  and  went  to  reside  with 
his  brother  Lawrence  at  Mount  Vernon.  Here  he  con 
tinued  his  mathematical  studies  and  his  practice  in  sur 
veying,  disturbed  at  times  by  recurrences  of  his  unlucky 
passion.  Though  by  no  means  of  a  poetical  tempera 
ment,  the  waste  pages  of  his  journal  betray  several  at 
tempts  to  pour  forth  his  amorous  sorrows  in  verse. 
They  are  mere  commonplace  rhymes,  such  as  lovers  at 
his  age  are  apt  to  write,  in  which  he  bewails  his  "  poor 
restless  heart,  wounded  by  Cupid's  dart,"  and  "  bleeding 
for  one  who  remains  pitiless  of  his  griefs  and  woes." 

The  tenor  of  some  of  his  verses  induce  us  to  believe 
that  he  never  told  his  love  ;  but,  as  we  have  already  sur« 
mised,  was  prevented  by  his  bashfulness. 

"Ah,  woe  is  me,  that  I  should  love  and  conceal; 
Long  have  I  wished  and  never  dare  reveal." 

It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  one's  self  to  the  idea  of  the 
cool  and  sedate  Washington,  the  great  champion  of 
American  liberty,  a  woe-worn  lover  in  his  youthful  days, 


LORD  FAIRFAX.  59 

"sighing  like  furnace,"  and  inditing  plaintive  verses 
about  the  groves  of  Mount  Vernon.  We  are  glad  of  an 
opportunity,  however,  of  penetrating  to  his  native  feel 
ings,  and  finding  that  under  his  studied  decorum  and 
reserve  he  had  a  heart  of  flesh  throbbing  with  the  warm 
impulses  of  human  nature. 

Being  a  favorite  of  Sir  William  Fairfax,  he  was  now 
an  occasional  inmate  of  Belvoir.  Among  the  persons  at 
present  residing  there  was  Thomas,  Lord  Fairfax,  cousin 
of  William  Fairfax,  and  of  whose  immense  landed  prop 
erty  the  latter  was  the  agent.  As  this  nobleman  was 
one  of  Washington's  earliest  friends,  and  in  some  degree 
the  founder  of  his  fortunes,  his  character  and  history  are 
worthy  of  especial  note. 

Lord  Fairfax  was  now  nearly  sixty  years  of  age,  up 
wards  of  six  feet  high,  gaunt  and  raw-boned,  near 
sighted,  with  light  gray  eyes,  sharp  features,  and  an 
aquiline  nose.  However  ungainly  his  present  appear 
ance,  he  had  figured  to  advantage  in  London  life  in  his 
younger  days.  He  had  received  his  education  at  the 
University  of  Oxford,  where  he  acquitted  himself  with 
credit.  He  afterwards  held  a  commission,  and  remained 
for  some  time  in  a  regiment  of  horse  called  the  Blues. 
His  title  and  connections,  of  course,  gave  him  access  to 
the  best  society,  in  which  he  acquired  additional  cur 
rency  by  contributing  a  paper  or  two  to  Addison's 
"  Spectator,"  then  in  great  vogue. 

In  the  height  of  his  fashionable  career,  he  became 


60  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

strongly  attached  to  a  young  lady  of  rank ;  paid  his  ad 
dresses,  and  was  accepted.  The  wedding  day  was  fixed  ; 
the  wedding  dresses  were  provided,  together  with  ser 
vants  and  equipages  for  the  matrimonial  establishment. 
Suddenly  the  lady  broke  her  engagement.  She  had  been 
dazzled  by  the  superior  brilliancy  of  a  ducal  coronet. 

It  was  a  cruel  blow,  alike  to  the  affection  and  pride  of 
Lord  Fairfax,  and  wrought  a  change  in  both  character 
and  conduct.  From  that  time  he  almost  avoided  the 
sex,  and  became  shy  and  embarrassed  in  their  society, 
excepting  among  those  with  whom  he  was  connected  or 
particularly  intimate.  This  may  have  been  among  the 
reasons  which  ultimately  induced  him  to  abandon  the 
gay  world  and  bury  himself  in  the  wilds  of  America. 
He  made  a  voyage  to  Virginia  about  the  year  1739,  to 
visit  his  vast  estates  there.  These  he  inherited  from  his 
mother,  Catharine,  daughter  of  Thomas,  Lord  Culpep- 
per,  to  whom  they  had  been  granted  by  Charles  II.  The 
original  grant  was  for  all  the  lands  lying  between  the 
Bappahannock  and  Potomac  rivers  ;  meaning  thereby,  it 
is  said,  merely  the  territory  on  the  Northern  Neck,  east  of 
the  Blue  Bidge.  His  lordship,  however,  discovering 
that  the  Potomac  headed  in  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
returned  to  England  and  claimed  a  correspondent  defi 
nition  of  his  grant.  It  was  arranged  by  compromise  : 
extending  his  domain  into  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and 
comprising,  among  other  lands,  a  great  portion  of  the 
Shenandoah  Valley. 


SOCIETY  AT  BELVOIR.  61 

Lord  Fairfax  had  been  delighted  with  his  visit  to  Vir 
ginia.  The  amenity  of  the  climate,  the  magnificence  of 
the  forest  scenery,  the  abundance  of  game, — all  point 
ed  it  out  as  a  favored  land.  He  was  pleased,  too,  with 
the  frank,  cordial  character  of  the  Virginians,  and  their 
independent  mode  of  life;  and  returned  to  it  with  the 
resolution  of  taking  up  his  abode  there  for  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  His  early  disappointment  in  love  was  the 
cause  of  some  eccentricities  in  his  conduct ;  yet  he  was 
amiable  and  courteous  in  his  manners,  and  of  a  liberal 
and  generous  spirit. 

Another  inmate  of  Belvoir  at  this  time  was  George 
William  Fairfax,  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  the 
eldest  son  of  the  proprietor.  He  had  been  educated  in 
England,  and  since  his  return  had  married  a  daughter  of 
Colonel  Carey,  of  Hampton,  on  James  River.  He  had 
recently  brought  home  his  bride  and  her  sister  to  his 
father's  house. 

The  merits  of  Washington  were  known  and  appre 
ciated  by  the  Fairfax  family.  Though  not  quite  sixteen 
years  of  age,  he  no  longer  seemed  a  boy,  nor  was  he 
treated  as  such.  Tall,  athletic,  and  manly  for  his  years, 
his  early  self-training,  and  the  code  of  conduct  he  had 
devised,  gave  a  gravity  and  decision  to  his  conduct ;  his 
frankness  and  modesty  inspired  cordial  regard,  and  the 
melancholy,  of  which  he  speaks,  may  have  produced  a 
softness  in  his  manner  calculated  to  win  favor  in  ladies' 
eyes.  According  to  his  own  account,  the  female  society 


62  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

by  which  he  was  surrounded  had  a  soothing  effect  on 
that  melancholy.  The  charms  of  Miss  Carey,  the  sister 
of  the  bride,  seem  even  to  have  caused  a  slight  fluttering 
in  his  bosom,  which,  however,  was  constantly  rebuked 
by  the  remembrance  of  his  former  passion — so  at  least 
we  judge  from  letters  to  his  youthful  confidants,  rough 
drafts  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen  in  his  tell-tale  journal. 

To  one  whom  he  addresses  as  his  dear  friend  Robin, 
he  writes  :  "  My  residence  is  at  present  at  his  lordship's, 
where  I  might,  was  my  heart  disengaged,  pass  my  time 
very  pleasantly,  as  there's  a  very  agreeable  young  lady 
lives  in  the  same  house  (Col.  George  Fairfax's  wife's  sis 
ter)  ;  but  as  that's  only  adding  fuel  to  fire,  it  makes  me 
the  more  uneasy,  for  by  often  and  unavoidably  being  in 
company  with  her,  revives  my  former  passion  for  your 
Lowland  Beauty ;  whereas  was  I  to  live  more  retired 
from  young  women,  I  might  in  some  measure  alleviate 
my  sorrows,  by  burying  that  chaste  and  troublesome  pas 
sion  in  the  grave  of  oblivion,"  etc. 

Similar  avowals  he  makes  to  another  of  his  young  cor 
respondents,  whom  he  styles,  "  Dear  friend  John ; "  as 
also  to  a  female  confidant,  styled,  "  Dear  Sally,"  to  whom 
he  acknowledges  that  the  company  of  the  "  very  agreeable 
young  lady,  sister-in-law  of  Col.  George  Fairfax,"  in  a 
great  measure  cheers  his  sorrow  and  dejectedness. 

The  object  of  this  early  passion  is  not  positively 
known.  Tradition  states  that  the  "  lowland  beauty  "  was 
a  Miss  Grimes,  of  Westmoreland,  afterwards  Mrs.  Lee, 


FOX-HUNTING.  63 

and  mother  of  General  Henry  Lee,  who  figured  in  revo 
lutionary  history  as  Light  Horse  Harry,  and  was  always 
a  favorite  with  Washington,  probably  from  the  recollec 
tions  of  his  early  tenderness  for  the  mother. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  soothing  effect  of  the 
female  society  by  which  he  was  surrounded  at  Belvoir, 
the  youth  found  a  more  effectual  remedy  for  his  love 
melancholy  in  the  company  of  Lord  Fairfax.  His  lord 
ship  was  a  staunch  fox-hunter,  and  kept  horses  and 
hounds  in  the  English  style.  The  hunting  season  had 
arrived.  The  neighborhood  abounded  with  sport ;  but 
fox-hunting  in  Virginia  required  bold  and  skillful  horse 
manship.  He  found  Washington  as  bold  as  •Idmself 
in  the  saddle,  and  as  eager  to  follow  the  hounds.  He 
forthwith  took  him  into  peculiar  favor;  made  him  his 
hunting  companion  ;  and  it  was  probably  under  the  tui 
tion  of  this  hard-riding  old  nobleman  that  the  youth  im 
bibed  that  fondness  for  the  chase  for  which  he  was  after 
wards  remarked. 

Their  fox-hunting  intercourse  was  attended  with  more 
important  results.  His  lordship's  possessions  beyond 
the  Blue  Eidge  had  never  been  regularly  settled  nor 
surveyed.  Lawless  intruders — squatters  as  they  were 
called,  were  planting  themselves  along  the  finest  streams 
and  in  the  richest  valleys,  and  virtually  taking  posses 
sion  of  the  country.  It  was  the  anxious  desire  of  Lord 
Fairfax  to  have  these  lands  examined,  surveyed,  and 
portioned  out  into  lots,  preparatory  to  ejecting  these 


64  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

interlopers  or  bringing  them  to  reasonable  terms.  In 
Washington,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  he  beheld  one 
fit  for  the  task — having  noticed  the  exercises  in  survey 
ing  which  he  kept  up  while  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  the 
aptness  and  exactness  with  which  every  process  was  ex 
ecuted.  He  was  well  calculated,  too,  by  his  vigor  and  ac 
tivity,  his  courage  and  hardihood,  to  cope  with  the  wild 
country  to  be  surveyed,  and  with  its  still  wilder  inhab 
itants.  The  proposition  had  only  to  be  offered  to  Wash 
ington  to  be  eagerly  accepted.  It  was  the  very  kind  of 
occupation  for  which  he  had  been  diligently  training 
himself.  All  the  preparations  required  by  one  of  his 
simple  habits  were  soon  made,  and  in  a  very  few  days  he 
was  ready  for  his  first  expedition  into  the  wilderness. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


EXPEDITION  BEYOND  THE  BLUE  RIDGE. — THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHENANDOAH.— - 
LORD  FAIRFAX. — LODGE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS. — SURVEYING. — LIFE  IN  THE 
BACKWOODS.— INDIANS.— WAR  DANCE.— GERMAN  SETTLERS.— RETURN  HOME. 
— WASHINGTON  AS  PUBLIC  SURVEYOR. — SOJOURN  AT  GREEN  WAY  COURT. — 
HORSES,  HOUNDS,  AND  BOOKS.— RUGGED  EXPERIENCE  AMONG  THE  MOUN 
TAINS. 


T  was  in  the  month  of  March  (1748),  and  just 
after  he  had  completed  his  sixteenth  year,  that 
Washington  set  out  on  horseback  on  this  sur 
veying  expedition,  in  company  with  George  William  Fair 
fax.  Their  route  lay  by  Ashley's  Gap,  a  pass  through 
the  Blue  Ridge,  that  beautiful  line  of  mountains  which, 
as  yet,  almost  formed  the  western  frontier  of  inhabited 
Virginia.  Winter  still  lingered  on  the  tops  of  the  moun 
tains,  whence  melting  snows  sent  down  torrents,  which 
swelled  the  rivers  and  occasionally  rendered  them  almost 
impassable.  Spring,  however,  was  softening  the  lower 
parts  of  the  landscape  and  smiling  in  the  valleys. 

They  entered  the  great  Valley  cf  Virginia,  where  it  is 

about  twenty-five  miles  wide;   a  lovely  and   temperate 

region,  diversified  by  gentle  swells  and  slopes,  admirably 

adapted  to  cultivation.   The  Blue  Ridge  bounds  it  on  one 

VOL.  i. — 5  65 


6<3  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

side,  the  North  Mountain,  a  ridge  of  the  Alleghanies,  o* 
the  other ;  while  through  it  flows  that  bright  and  abound 
ing  river,  which,  on  account  of  its  surpassing  beauty, 
was  named  by  the  Indians  the  Shenandoah — that  is  to 
say,  "  the  daughter  of  the  stars." 

The  first  station  of  the  travellers  was  at  a  kind  of  lodge 
in  the  wilderness,  where  the  steward  or  land-bailiff  of 
Lord  Fairfax  resided,  with  such  negroes  as  were  required 
for  farming  purposes,  and  which  Washington  terms  "  his 
lordship's  quarters."  It  was  situated  not  far  from  the 
Shenandoah,  and  about  twelve  miles  from  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Winchester. 

In  a  diary  kept  with  his  usual  minuteness,  Washington 
speaks  with  delight  of  the  beauty  of  the  trees  and  the 
richness  of  the  land  in  the  neighborhood,  and  of  his  rid 
ing  through  a  noble  grove  of  sugar  maples  on  the  banks 
of  the  Shenandoah ;  and  at  the  present  day  the  mag 
nificence  of  the  forests  which  still  exist  in  this  favored 
region  justifies  his  eulogium. 

He  looked  around,  however,  with  an  eye  to  the  profit 
able  rather  than  the  poetical.  The  gleam  of  poetry  and 
romance,  inspired  by  his  "lowland  beauty,"  occurs  no 
more.  The  real  business  of  life  has  commenced  with 
him.  His  diary  affords  no  food  for  fancy.  Everything  is 
practical.  The  qualities  of  the  soil,  the  relative  value  of 
sites  and  localities,  are  faithfully  recorded.  In  these  his 
early  habits  of  observation  and  his  exercises  in  surveying 
had  already  made  him  a  proficient. 


LIFE  IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  67 

His  surveys  commenced  in  the  lower  part  of  the  valley, 
some  distance  above  the  junction  of  the  Shenandoah  with 
the  Potomac,  and  extended  for  many  miles  along  the 
former  river.  Here  and  there  partial  "  clearings  "  had 
been  made  by  squatters  and  hardy  pioneers,  and  their 
rude  husbandry  had  produced  abundant  crops  of  grain, 
hemp,  and  tobacco  ;  civilization,  however,  had  hardly  yet 
entered  the  valley,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  note  of  a 
night's  lodging  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  settlers — Cap* 
tain  Hite,  near  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Winches 
ter.  Here,  after  supper,  most  of  the  company  stretched 
themselves  in  backwoods  style,  before  the  fire ;  but  Wash 
ington  was  shown  into  a  bedroom.  Fatigued  with  a  hard 
day's  work  at  surveying,  he  soon  undressed ;  but  instead 
of  being  nestled  between  sheets  in  a  comfortable  bed, 
as  at  the  maternal  home,  or  at  Mount  Vernon,  he  found 
himself  on  a  couch  of  matted  straw,  under  a  threadbare 
blanket,  swarming  with  unwelcome  bedfellows.  After 
tossing  about  for  a  few  moments,  he  was  glad  to  put  on 
his  clothes  again,  and  rejoin  his  companions  before  the 
fire. 

Such  was  his  first  experience  of  life  in  the  wilderness  ; 
he  soon,  however,  accustomed  himself  to  "  rough  it,"  and 
adapt  himself  to  fare  of  all  kinds,  though  he  generally 
preferred  a  bivouac  before  a  fire,  in  the  open  air,  to  the 
accommodations  of  a  woodman's  cabin.  Proceeding  down 
the  valley  to  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  they  found  that 
river  so  much  swollen  by  the  rain  which  had  fallen 


68  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

among  the  Alleghanies,  as  to  be  unfordable.  To  while 
away  the  time  until  it  should  subside,  they  made  an  ex 
cursion  to  examine  certain  warm  springs  in  a  valley 
among  the  mountains,  since  called  the  Berkeley  Springs. 
There  they  camped  out  at  night,  under  the  stars ;  the 
diary  makes  no  complaint  of  their  accommodations ;  and 
their  camping -ground  is  now  known  as  Bath,  one  of  the 
favorite  watering-places  of  Virginia.  One  of  the  warm 
springs  was  subsequently  appropriated  by  Lord  Fairfax 
to  his  own  use,  and  still  bears  his  name. 

After  watching  in  vain  for  the  river  to  subside,  they 
procured  a  canoe,  on  which  they  crossed  to  the  Mary 
land  side,  swimming  their  horses.  A  weary  day's  ride 
of  forty  miles  up  the  left  side  of  the  river,  in  a  continual 
rain,  and  over  what  Washington  pronounces  the  worst 
road  ever  trod  by  man  or  beast,  brought  them  to  the 
house  of  a  Colonel  Cresap,  opposite  the  south  branch  of 
the  Potomac,  where  they  put  up  for  the  night. 

Here  they  were  detained  three  or  four  days  by  inclem 
ent  weather.  On  the  second  day  they  were  surprised  by 
the  appearance  of  a  war  party  of  thirty  Indians,  bearing 
a  scalp  as  a  trophy.  A  little  liquor  procured  the  specta 
cle  of  a  war  dance.  A  large  space  was  cleared,  and  a  fire 
made  in  the  centre,  round  which  the  warriors  took  their 
seats.  The  principal  orator  made  a  speech,  reciting  their 
recent  exploits,  and  rousing  them  to  triumph.  One  of 
the  warriors  started  up  as  if  from  sleep,  and  began  a 
series  of  movements,  half-grotesque,  half-tragical ;  the 


CAMPING  OUT.  69 

rest  followed.  For  music,  one  savage  drummed  on  a 
deer-skin,  stretched  over  a  pot  half-filled  with  water; 
another  rattled  a  gourd,  containing  »  lew  shot,  and  deco~ 
rated  with  a  horse's  tail.  Their  strange  outcries,  and 
uncouth  forms  and  garbs,  seen  by  the  glare  of  the  fire, 
and  their  whoops  and  yells,  made  them  appear  more  like 
demons  than  human  heings.  All  this  savage  gambol  was 
no  novelty  to  Washington's  companions,  experienced  in 
frontier  life  ;  but  to  the  youth,  fresh  from  school,  it  was 
a  strange  spectacle,  which  he  sat  contemplating  with 
deep  interest,  and  carefully  noted  down  in  his  journal. 
It  will  be  found  that  he  soon  made  himself  acquainted 
with  the  savage  character,  and  became  expert  at  dealing 
with  these  inhabitants  of  the  wilderness. 

From  this  encampment  the  party  proceeded  to  the 
mouth  of  Patterson's  Creek,  where  they  recrossed  the 
river  in  a  canoe,  swimming  their  horses  as  before.  More 
than  two  weeks  were  now  passed  by  them  in  the  wild 
mountainous  regions  of  Frederick  County,  and  about 
the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac,  surveying  lands  and 
laying  out  lots,  camped  out  the  greater  part  of  the  time, 
and  subsisting  on  wild  turkeys  and  other  game.  Each 
one  was  his  own  cook ;  forked  sticks  served  for  spits, 
and  chips  of  wood  for  dishes.  The  weather  was  un 
settled.  At  one  time  their  tent  was  blown  down ;  at 
another  they  were  driven  out  of  it  by  smoke ;  now 
they  were  drenched  with  rain,  and  now  the  straw  on 
which  Washington  was  sleeping  caught  fire,  and  he  was 


70  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

awakened  by  a  companion  just  in  time  to  escape  a 
scorching. 

The  only  variety  to  this  camp  life  was  a  supper  at  the 
house  of  one  Solomon  Hedge,  Esquire,  His  Majesty's 
justice  of  the  peace,  where  there  were  no  forks  at  table, 
nor  any  knives  but  such  as  the  guests  brought  in  their 
pockets.  During  their  surveys  they  were  followed  by 
numbers  of  people,  some  of  them  squatters,  anxious, 
doubtless,  to  procure  a  cheap  title  to  the  land  they  had 
appropriated;  others,  German  emigrants,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  seeking  a  new  home  in  the  wilder 
ness.  Most  of  the  latter  could  not  speak  English ;  but 
when  spoken  to,  answered  in  their  native  tongue.  They 
appeared  to  Washington  ignorant  as  Indians,  and  un 
couth,  but  "  merry,  and  full  of  antic  tricks/'  Such  were 
the  progenitors  of  the  sturdy  yeomanry  now  inhabiting 
those  parts,  many  of  whom  still  preserve  their  strong 
German  characteristics. 

"  I  have  not  slept  above  three  or  four  nights  in  a  bed," 
writes  Washington  to  one  of  his  young  friends  at  home ; 
"  but  after  walking  a  good  deal  all  the  day  I  have  lain 
down  before  the  fire  upon  a  little  straw  or  fodder,  or  a 
bear  skin,  whichever  was  to  be  had,  with  man,  wife,  and 
children,  like  dogs  and  cats ;  and  happy  is  he  who  gets 
the  berth  nearest  the  fire." 

Having  completed  his  surveys,  he  &et  forth  fron.  the 
south  branch  of  the  Potomac  on  his  return  homeward, 
crossed  the  mountains  to  the  great  Oacapehon,  traversed 


GREEN  WAY  COURT.  71 

the  Shenandoah  Valley,  passed  through  the  Blue  Ridge, 
and  on  the  12th  of  April  found  himself  once  more  at 
Mount  Vernon.  For  his  services  he  received,  according 
to  his  note-book,  a  doubloon  per  day  when  actively  em 
ployed,  and  sometimes  six  pistoles.* 

The  manner  in  which  he  had  acquitted  himself  in  this 
arduous  expedition,  and  his  accounts  of  the  country  sur 
veyed,  gave  great  satisfaction  to  Lord  Fairfax,  who 
shortly  afterwards  moved  across  the  Blue  Bidge,  and 
took  up  his  residence  at  the  place  heretofore  noted  as 
his  "quarters."  Here  he  laid  out  a  manor,  containing 
ten  thousand  acres  of  arable  grazing  lands,  vast  meadows, 
and  noble  forests,  and  projected  a  spacious  manor  house, 
giving  to  the  place  the  name  of  Greenway  Court. 

It  was  probably  through  the  influence  of  Lord  Fairfax 
that  Washington  received  the  appointment  of  public  sur 
veyor.  This  conferred  authority  on  his  surveys,  and 
entitled  them  to  be  recorded  in  the  county  offices ;  and 
so  invariably  correct  have  these  surveys  been  found  that, 
to  this  day,  wherever  any  of  them  stand  on  record,  they 
receive  implicit  credit. 

For  three  years  he  continued  in  this  occupation,  which 
proved  extremely  profitable,  from  the  vast  extent  of  coun 
try  to  be  surveyed  and  the  very  limited  number  of  public 
surveyors.  It  made  him  acquainted,  also,  with  the  coun 
try,  the  nature  of  the  soil  in  various  parts,  and  the  value 

*  A  pistole  is  $3.60. 


72  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  localities ;  all  which,  proved  advantageous  to  him  in 
his  purchases  in  after  years.  Many  of  the  finest  parts  of 
the  Shenandoah  Valley  are  yet  owned  by  members  of  the 
Washington  family. 

While  thus  employed  for  months  at  a  time  surveying 
the  lands  beyond  the  Blue  Bidge,  he  was  often  an  inmate 
of  Greenway  Court.  The  projected  manor  house  was 
never  even  commenced.  On  a  green  knoll  overshadowed 
by  trees  was  a  long  stone  building  one  story  in  height, 
with  dormer  windows,  two  wooden  belfries,  chimneys 
studded  with  swallow  and  martin  coops,  and  a  roof  slop 
ing  down  in  the  old  Virginia  fashion,  into  low  projecting 
eaves  that  formed  a  verandah  the  whole  length  of  the 
house.  It  was  probably  the  house  originally  occupied 
by  his  steward  or  land  agent,  but  was  now  devoted  to 
hospitable  purposes,  and  the  reception  of  guests.  As  to 
his  lordship,  it  was  one  of  his  many  eccentricities,  that 
he  never  slept  in  the  main  edifice,  but  lodged  apart  in  a 
wooden  house  not  much  above  twelve  feet  square.  In  a 
small  building  was  his  office,  where  quit-rents  were  given, 
deeds  drawn,  and  business  transacted  with  his  tenants. 

About  the  knoll  were  out-houses  for  his  numerous 
servants,  black  and  white,  with  stables  for  saddle-horses 
and  hunters,  and  kennels  for  his  hounds ;  for  his  lord 
ship  retained  his  keen  hunting  propensities,  and  the 
neighborhood  abounded  in  game.  Indians,  half-breeds, 
and  leathern-clad  woodsmen  loitered  about  the  place,  and 
partook  of  the  abundance  of  the  kitchen.  His  lordship's 


MOUNTAIN  EXPERIENCE.  73 

table  was  plentiful  but  plain,  and  served  in  the  English 
fashion. 

Here  Washington  had  full  opportunity,  in  the  proper 
seasons,  of  indulging  his  fondness  for  field  sports,  and 
once  more  accompanying  his  lordship  in  the  chase.  The 
conversation  of  Lord  Fairfax,  too,  was  full  of  interest  and 
instruction  to  an  inexperienced  youth,  from  his  culti 
vated  talents,  his  literary  taste,  and  his  past  intercourse 
with  the  best  society  of  Europe,  and  its  most  distin 
guished  authors.  He  had  brought  books,  too,  with  him 
into  the  wilderness,  and  from  Washington's  diary  we  find 
that  during  his  sojourn  here  he  was  diligently  reading 
the  history  of  England,  and  the  essays  of  the  "  Spectator." 

Such  was  Greenway  Court  in  these  its  palmy  days, 
We  visited  it  recently  and  found  it  tottering  to  its  fall, 
mouldering  in  the  midst  of  a  magnificent  country,  where 
nature  still  flourishes  in  full  luxuriance  and  beauty. 

Three  or  four  years  were  thus  passed  by  Washington, 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  but 
occasionally  with  his  brother  Lawrence  at  Mount  Vernon. 
His  rugged  and  toilsome  expeditions  in  the  mountains, 
among  rude  scenes  and  rough  people,  inured  him  to 
hardships,  and  made  him  apt  at  expedients;  while  his 
intercourse  with  his  cultivated  brother,  and  with  the 
various  members  of  the  Fairfax  family,  had  a  happy 
effect  in  toning  up  his  mind  and  manners,  and  counter 
acting  the  careless  and  self-indulgent  habitudes  of  the 
wilderness. 


CHAPTEE  T. 


gWGLISH  AND  FRENCH  CLAIMS  TO  THE  OHIO  VALLEY.— WILD  STATE  OF  THfi 
COUNTRY. — PROJECTS  OF  SETTLEMENTS. — THE  OHIO  COMPANY. — ENLIGHT 
ENED  VIEWS  OF  LAWRENCE  WASHINGTON. — FRENCH  RIVALRY. — CELERON 
DE  BIENVILLE. — HIS  SIGNS  OF  OCCUPATION. — HUGH  CRAWFORD. — GEORGE 
CROGHAN,  A  VETERAN  TRADER,  AND  MONTOUR,  HIS  INTERPRETER. — THEIR 
MISSION  FROM  PENNSYLVANIA  TO  THE  OHIO  TRIBES.— CHRISTOPHER  GIST, 
THE  PIONEER  OF  THE  YADKIN. — AGENT  OF  THE  OHIO  COMPANY. — HIS  EX 
PEDITION  TO  THE  FRONTIER. — REPROBATE  TRADERS  AT  LOGSTOWN. — NE 
GOTIATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS. — SCENES  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY. — DI 
PLOMACY  AT  PIQUA. — KEGS  OF  BRANDY  AND  ROLLS  OF  TOBACCO. — GIST'S 
RETURN  ACROSS  KENTUCKY. — A  DESERTED  HOME. — FRENCH  SCHEMES. — CAP 
TAIN  JONCAIRE,  A  DIPLOMAT  OF  THE  WILDERNESS. — HIS  SPEECH  AT  LOGS- 
TOWN. — THE  INDIANS'  LAND. — "WHERE?" 


UEING  the  time  of  Washington's  surveying 
campaigns  among  the  mountains,  a  grand  colo 
nizing  scheme  had  been  set  on  foot,  destined  to 
enlist  him  in  hardy  enterprises,  and  in  some  degree  to 
shape  the  course  of  his  future  fortunes. 

The  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
which  had  put  an  end  to  the  general  war  of  Europe,  had 
left  undefined  the  boundaries  between  the  British  and 
French  possessions  in  America ;  a  singular  remissness, 
considering  that  they  had  long  been  a  subject  in  dispute, 
and  a  cause  of  frequent  conflicts  in  the  colonies.  Im- 

74 


CLAIMS  TO  THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  75 

mense  regions  were  still  claimed  by  both  nations,  and 
each  was  now  eager  to  forestall  the  other  by  getting 
possession  of  them,  and  strengthening  its  claim  by  occu 
pancy. 

The  most  desirable  of  these  regions  lay  west  of  the  Al- 
leghany  Mountains,  extending  from  the  lakes  to  the  Ohio, 
and  embracing  the  valley  of  that  river  and  its  tributary 
streams.  An  immense  territory,  possessing  a  salubrious 
climate,  fertile  soil,  fine  hunting  and  fishing  grounds, 
and  facilities  by  lakes  and  rivers  for  a  vast  internal  com 
merce. 

The  French  claimed  all  this  country  quite  to  the  Alle- 
ghany  Mountains  by  the  right  of  discovery.  In  1673, 
Padre  Marquette,  with  his  companion,  Joliet,  of  Quebec, 
both  subjects  of  the  crown  of  France,  had  passed  down 
the  Mississippi  in  a  canoe  quite  to  the  Arkansas,  thereby, 
according  to  an  alleged  maxim  in  the  law  of  nations, 
establishing  the  right  of  their  sovereign,  not  merely  to 
the  river  so  discovered  and  its  adjacent  lands,  but  to  all 
the  country  drained  by  its  tributary  streams,  of  which 
the  Ohio  was  one ;  a  claim,  the  ramifications  of  which 
might  be  spread,  like  the  meshes  of  a  web,  over  half  the 
continent. 

To  this  illimitable  claim  the  English  opposed  a  right 
derived,  at  second  hand,  from  a  traditionary  Indian  con 
quest.  A  treaty,  they  said,  had  been  made  at  Lancester, 
in  1741,  between  commissioners  from  Pennsylvania,  Mary 
land,  and  Virginia,  and  the  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations, 


76  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

whereby  the  latter,  for  four  hundred  pounds,  gave  up  all 
right  and  title  to  the  land  west  of  the  Alleghany  Moun 
tains,  even  to  the  Mississippi,  which  land,  according  to 
their  traditions,  had  been  conquered  by  their  forefathers. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  such  a  treaty  was  made, 
and  such  a  pretended  transfer  of  title  did  take  place, 
under  the  influence  of  spirituous  liquors ;  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  the  Indians  in  question  did  not,  at  the 
time,  possess  an  acre  of  the  land  conveyed ;  and  that  the 
tribes  actually  in  possession  scoffed  at  their  pretensions, 
and  claimed  the  country  as  their  own  from  time  imme 
morial. 

Such  were  the  shadowy  foundations  of  claims  which 
the  two  nations  were  determined  to  maintain  to  the  ut 
termost,  and  which  ripened  into  a  series  of  wars,  ending 
in  a  loss  to  England  of  a  great  part  of  her  American  pos 
sessions,  and  to  France  of  the  whole. 

As  yet  in  the  region  in  question  there  was  not  a  single 
white  settlement.  Mixed  Iroquois,  tribes  of  Delawares, 
Shawnees,  and  Mingoes,  had  migrated  into  it  early  in  the 
century  from  the  French  settlements  in  Canada,  and 
taken  up  their  abodes  about  the  Ohio  and  its  branches. 
The  French  pretended  to  hold  them  under  their  pro 
tection  ;  but  their  allegiance,  if  ever  acknowledged,  had 
been  sapped  of  late  years  by  the  influx  of  fur  traders 
from  Pennsylvania.  These  were  often  rough,  lawless 
men,  half  Indians  in  dress  and  habits,  prone  to  brawls, 
and  sometimes  deadly  in  their  feuds.  They  were  gener- 


TEE  OHIO  COMPANY.  77 

ally  in  the  employ  of  some  trader,  who,  at  the  head  of 
his  retainers  and  a  string  of  pack-horses,  would  make 
his  way  over  mountains  and  through  forests  to  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio,  establish  his  head-quarters  in  some  Indian 
town,  and  disperse  his  followers  to  traffic  among  the 
hamlets,  hunting- camps,  and  wigwams,  exchanging  blan 
kets,  gaudy-colored  cloth,  trinketry,  powder,  shot,  and 
rum,  for  valuable  furs  and  peltry.  In  this  way  a  lucra 
tive  trade  with  these  western  tribes  was  springing  up 
and  becoming  monopolized  by  the  Pennsylvanians. 

To  secure  a  participation  in  this  trade,  and  to  gain  a 
foothold  in  this  desirable  region,  became  now  the  wish 
of  some  of  the  most  intelligent  and  enterprising  men  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland,  among  whom  were  Lawrence  and 
Augustine  Washington.  With  these  views  they  projected 
a  scheme,  in  connection  with  John  Hanbury,  a  wealthy 
London  merchant,  to  obtain  a  grant  of  land  from  the 
British  government,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  settle 
ments  or  colonies  beyond  the  Alleghanies.  Government 
readily  countenanced  a  scheme  by  which  French  en 
croachments  might  be  forestalled,  and  prompt  and  quiet 
possession  secured  of  the  great  Ohio  Valley.  An  as 
sociation  was  accordingly  chartered  in  1749,  by  the 
name  of  "  the  Ohio  Company,"  and  five  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land  was  granted  to  it  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
between  the  Monongahela  and  Kanawha  rivers,  though 
part  of  the  land  might  be  taken  up  north  of  the  Ohio, 
should  it  be  deemed  expedient.  The  Company  were  to 


78  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

pay  no  quit-rent  for  ten  years ;  but  they  were  to  select 
two  fifths  of  their  lands  immediately ;  to  settle  one  hun 
dred  families  upon  them  within  seven  years ;  to  build  a 
fort  at  their  own  expense,  and  maintain  a  sufficient  gar 
rison  in  it  for  defense  against  the  Indians. 

Mr.  Thomas  Lee,  president,  of  the  council  of  Yirginia, 
took  the  lead  in  the  concerns  of  the  company  at  the  out 
set,  and  by  many  has  been  considered  its  founder.  On 
his  death,  which  soon  took  place,  Lawrence  Washington 
had  the  chief  management.  His  enlightened  mind  and 
liberal  spirit  shone  forth  in  its  earliest  arrangements. 
He  wished  to  form  the  settlements  with  Germans  from 
Pennsylvania.  Being  dissenters,  however,  they  would  be 
obliged,  on  becoming  residents  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
Virginia,  to  pay  parish  rates,  and  maintain  a  clergyman 
of  the  Church  of  England,  though  they  might  not  under 
stand  his  language  nor  relish  his  doctrines.  Lawrence 
sought  to  have  them  exempted  from  this  double  tax  on 
purse  and  conscience. 

"  It  has  ever  been  my  opinion,"  said  he,  "  and  I  hope 
it  ever  will  be,  that  restraints  on  conscience  are  cruel  in 
regard  to  those  on  whom  they  are  imposed,  and  injurious 
to  the  country  imposing  them.  England,  Holland,  and 
Prussia  I  may  quote  as  examples,  and  much  more  Penn 
sylvania,  which  has  flourished  under  that  delightful 
liberty,  so  as  to  become  the  admiration  of  every  man  who 

considers  the  short  time  it  has  been  settled 

This  colony  ( Yirginia )  was  greatly  settled  in  the  latter 


FRENCH  RIVALRY.  79 

part  of  Charles  the  First's  time,  and  during  the  usurpa» 
tion,  by  the  zealous  churchmen ;  and  that  spirit,  which 
was  brought  in,  has  ever  since  continued ;  so  that,  except 
a  few  Quakers,  we  have  no  dissenters.  But  what  has  been 
the  consequence  ?  We  have  increased  by  slow  degrees, 
whilst  our  neighboring  colonies,  whose  natural  advantages 
are  greatly  inferior  to  ours,  have  become  populous." 

Such  were  the  enlightened  views  of  this  brother  of  our 
Washington,  to  whom  the  latter  owed  much  of  his  moral 
and  mental  training.  The  Company  proceeded  to  make 
preparations  for  their  colonizing  scheme.  Goods  were 
imported  from  England  suited  to  the  Indian  trade,  or  for 
presents  to  the  chiefs.  Kewards  were  promised  to  vet 
eran  warriors  and  hunters  among  the  natives  acquainted 
with  the  woods  and  mountains,  for  the  best  route  to  the 
Ohio.  Before  the  Company  had  received  its  charter, 
however,  the  French  were  in  the  field.  Early  in  1749, 
the  Marquis  de  la  Galisonniere,  Governor  of  Canada,  de 
spatched  Celeron  de  Bienville,  an  intelligent  officer,  at  the 
head  of  three  hundred  men,  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  to 
make  peace,  as  he  said,  between  the  tribes  that  had  be 
come  embroiled  with  each  other  during  the  late  war,  and 
to  renew  the  French  possession  of  the  country.  Cele 
ron  de  Bienville  distributed  presents  among  the  Indians, 
made  speeches  reminding  them  of  former  friendship,  and 
warned  them  not  to  trade  with  the  English. 

He  furthermore  nailed  leaden  plates  to  trees,  and  buried 
others  in  the  earth,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  its 


80  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

tributaries,  bearing  inscriptions  purporting  that  all  the 
lands  on  both  sides  of  the  rivers  to  their  sources  apper 
tained,  as  in  foregone  times,  to  the  crown  of  France.* 
The  Indians  gazed  at  these  mysterious  plates  with  won 
dering  eyes,  but  surmised  their  purport.  "  They  mean  to 
steal  our  country  from  us,"  murmured  they;  and  they 
determined  to  seek  protection  from  the  English. 

Celeron  finding  some  traders  from  Pennsylvania  traffick 
ing  among  the  Indians,  he  summoned  them  to  depart,  and 
wrote  by  them  to  James  Hamilton,  Governor  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  telling  him  the  object  of  his  errand  to  those  parts, 
and  his  surprise  at  meeting  with  English  traders  in  a 
country  to  which  England  had  no  pretensions ;  intimating 
that  in  future  any  intruders  of  the  kind  would  be  rigor 
ously  dealt  with. 

His  letter,  and  a  report  of  his  proceedings  on  the  Ohio, 
roused  the  solicitude  of  the  Governor  and  council  of 
Pennsylvania,  for  the  protection  of  their  Indian  trade. 
Shortly  afterwards,  one  Hugh  Crawford,  who  had  been 
trading  with  the  Miami  tribes  on  the  Wabash,  brought  a 
message  from  them,  speaking  of  the  promises  and  threats 
with  which  the  French  were  endeavoring  to  shake  their 
faith,  but  assuring  the  governor  that  their  friendship  for 
the  English  "  would  last  while  the  sun  and  moon  ran 
round  the  world."  This  message  was  accompanied  by 
three  strings  of  wampum. 

*  One  of  these  plates,  bearing  date  August  16,  1749,  was  found  in 
recent  years  at  the  confluence  of  the  Muskingum  with  the  Ohio, 


GEORGE  CROGHAN.— CHRISTOPHER  GIST.  81 

Governor  Hamilton  knew  the  value  of  Indian  friend 
ship,  and  suggested  to  the  Assembly  that  it  would  be 
better  to  clinch  it  with  presents,  and  that  as  soon  as  pos 
sible.  An  envoy  accordingly  was  sent  off  early  in  Octo 
ber,  who  was  supposed  to  have  great  influence  among 
the  western  tribes.  This  was  one  George  Croghan,  a 
veteran  trader,  shrewd  and  sagacious,  who  had  been  fre 
quently  to  the  Ohio  country  with  pack-horses  and  fol 
lowers,  and  made  himself  popular  among  the  Indians  by 
dispensing  presents  with  a  lavish  hand.  He  was  accom 
panied  by  Andrew  Montour,  a  Canadian  of  half  Indian 
descent,  who  was  to  act  as  interpreter.  They  were  pro 
vided  with  a  small  present  for  the  emergency ;  but  were 
to  convoke  a  meeting  of  all  the  tribes  at  Logstown,  on 
the  Ohio,  early  in  the  ensuing  spring,  to  receive  an  ample 
present  which  would  be  provided  by  the  Assembly. 

It  was  some  time  later  in  the  same  autumn  that  the 
Ohio  Company  brought  their  plans  into  operation,  and 
despatched  an  agent  to  explore  the  lands  upon  the  Ohio 
and  its  branches  as  low  as  the  Great  Falls,  take  note  of 
their  fitness  for  cultivation,  of  the  passes  of  the  moun 
tains,  the  courses  and  bearings  of  the  rivers,  and  the 
strength  and  disposition  of  the  native  tribes.  The  mac 
chosen  for  the  purpose  was  Christopher  Gist,  a  hardy 
pioneer,  experienced  in  woodcraft  and  Indian  life,  who 
had  his  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Tadkin,  near  the 
boundary  line  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  He  was 
allowed  a  woodsman  or  two  for  the  service  of  the  expedi* 

VOL.  I.  —6 


82  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

tion.  He  set  out  on  the  31st  of  October,  from  the  banks 
of  the  Potomac,  by  an  Indian  path  which  the  hunters 
had  pointed  out,  leading  from  Wills'  Creek,  since  called 
Fort  Cumberland,  to  the  Ohio.  Indian  paths  and  buffalo 
tracks  are  the  primitive  highways  of  the  wilderness. 
Passing  the  Juniata,  he  crossed  the  ridges  of  the  Alle- 
ghany,  arrived  at  Shannopin,  a  Delaware  village  on  the 
southeast  side  of  the  Ohio,  or  rather  of  that  upper 
branch  of  it  now  called  the  Alleghany,  swam  his  horses 
across  that  river,  and  descending  along  its  valley  arrived 
at  Logstown,  an  important  Indian  village  a  little  below 
the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Pittsburg.  Here  usually 
resided  Tanacharisson,  a  Seneca  chief  of  great  note,  be 
ing  head  sachem  of  the  mixed  tribes  which  had  migrated 
to  the  Ohio  and  its  branches.  He  was  generally  surnamed 
the  Half-king,  being  subordinate  to  the  Iroquois  confed 
eracy.  The  chief  was  absent  at  this  time,  as  were  most 
of  his  people,  it  being  the  hunting  season.  George  Cro- 
ghan,  the  envoy  from  Pennsylvania,  with  Montour  his 
interpreter,  had  passed  through  Logstown  a  week  pre 
viously,  on  his  way  to  the  Twightwees  and  other  tribes, 
on  the  Miami  branch  of  the  Ohio.  Scarce  any  one  was  to 
be  seen  about  the  village  but  some  of  Croghan's  rough 
people,  whom  he  had  left  behind — "  reprobate  Indian 
traders,"  as  Gist  terms  them.  They  regarded  the  latter 
with  a  jealous  eye,  suspecting  him  of  some  rivalship  in 
trade,  or  designs  on  the  Indian  lands ;  and  intimated  sig 
nificantly  that  "  he  would  never  go  home  safe." 


GIST  AT  MUSKIMOUM.  83 

Gist  knew  the  meaning  of  such  hints  from  men  of  this 
stamp  in  the  lawless  depths  of  the  wilderness;  but 
quieted  their  suspicions  by  letting  them  know  that  he 
was  on  public  business,  and  on  good  terms  with  their 
great  man,  George  Croghan,  to  whom  he  despatched  a 
letter.  He  took  his  departure  from  Logstown,  however, 
as  soon  as  possible,  preferring,  as  he  said,  the  solitude  of 
the  wilderness  to  such  company. 

At  Beaver  Creek,  a  few  miles  below  the  village,  he  left 
the  river  and  struck  into  the  interior  of  the  present 
State  of  Ohio.  Here  he  overtook  George  Croghan  at 
Muskingum,  a  town  of  Wyandots  and  Mingoes.  He  had 
ordered  all  the  traders  in  his  employ  who  were  scattered 
among  the  Indian  villages,  to  rally  at  this  town,  where 
he  had  hoisted  the  English  flag  over  his  residence,  and 
over  that  of  the  sachem.  This  was  in  consequence  of 
the  hostility  of  the  French,  who  had  recently  captured, 
in  the  neighborhood,  three  white  men  in  the  employ  of 
Frazier,  an  Indian  trader,  and  had  carried  them  away 
prisoners  to  Canada. 

Gist  was  well  received  by  the  people  of  Muskingum. 
They  were  indignant  at  the  French  violation  of  their  ter 
ritories,  and  the  capture  of  their  "English  brothers." 
They  had  not  forgotten  the  conduct  of  Celeron  de  Bien- 
ville  in  the  previous  year,  and  the  mysterious  plates 
which  he  had  nailed  against  trees  and  sunk  in  the 
ground.  "  If  the  French  claim  the  rivers  which  run  into 
the  lakes,"  said  they,  "  those  which  run  into  the  Ohio 


34  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

belong  to  us  and  to  our  brothers  the  English."  And 
they  were  anxious  that  Gist  should  settle  among  them, 
and  build  a  fort  for  their  mutual  defense. 

A  council  of  the  nation  was  now  held,  in  which  Gist 
invited  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  to 
visit  that  province,  where  a  large  present  of  goods 
awaited  them,  sent  by  their  father,  the  great  king,  over 
the  water  to  his  Ohio  children.  The  invitation  was 
graciously  received,  but  no  answer  could  be  given  until  a 
grand  council  of  the  western  tribes  had  been  held,  which 
was  to  take  place  at  Logstown  in  the  ensuing  spring, 

Similar  results  attended  visits  made  by  Gist  and  Cro- 
ghan  to  the  Delawares  and  the  Shawnees  at  their  villages 
about  the  Scioto  River ;  all  promised  to  be  at  the  gather 
ing  at  Logstown.  From  the  Shawnee  village,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Scioto,  the  two  emissaries  shaped  their 
course  north  two  hundred  miles,  crossed  the  Great  Mo- 
neami,  or  Miami  River,  on  a  raft,  swimming  their  horses ; 
and  on  the  17th  of  February  arrived  at  the  Indian  town 
of  Piqua. 

These  journeyings  had  carried  Gist  about  a  wide 
extent  of  country  beyond  the  Ohio.  It  was  rich  and 
level,  watered  with  streams  and  rivulets,  and  clad  with 
noble  forests  of  hickory,  walnut,  ash,  poplar,  sugar-ma 
ple,  and  wild  cherry  trees.  Occasionally  there  were 
spacious  plains  covered  with  wild  rye  ;  natural  meadows, 
with  blue  grass  and  clover ;  and  buffaloes,  thirty  and 
forty  at  a  time,  grazing  on  them  as  in  a  cultivated  pa* 


DIPLOMACY  AT  PIQTTA.  85 

ture.  Deer,  elk,  and  wild  turkeys  abounded.  "  Nothing 
is  wanted  but  cultivation, "  said  Gist,  "  to  make  this  a 
most  delightful  country."  Cultivation  has  since  proved 
the  truth  of  his  words.  The  country  thus  described  is 
the  present  State  of  Ohio. 

Piqua,  where  Gist  and  Croghan  had  arrived,  was  the 
principal  town  of  the  Twightwees  or  Miamis ;  the  most 
powerful  confederacy  of  the  West,  combining  four  tribes, 
and  extending  its  influence  even  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
A  king  or  sachem  of  one  or  other  of  the  different  tribes 
presided  over  the  whole.  The  head  chief  at  present  was 
the  king  of  the  Piankeshas. 

At  this  town  Croghan  formed  a  treaty  of  alliance  in  the 
name  of  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  with  two  of  the 
Miami  tribes.  And  Gist  was  promised  by  the  king  of  the 
Piankeshas  that  the  chiefs  of  the  various  tribes  would 
attend  the  meeting  at  Logstown  to  make  a  treaty  with 
Virginia. 

In  the  height  of  these  demonstrations  of  friendship, 
two  Ottawas  entered  the  council-house,  announcing  them 
selves  as  envoys  from  the  French  Governor  of  Canada  to 
seek  a  renewal  of  ancient  alliance.  They  were  received 
with  all  due  ceremonial ;  for  none  are  more  ceremonious 
than  the  Indians.  The  French  colors  were  set  up  beside 
the  English,  and  the  ambassadors  opened  their  mission. 
"  Your  father,  the  French  king,"  said  they,  "  remember 
ing  his  children  on  the  Ohio,  has  sent  them  these  two 
kegs  of  milk,"— here,  with  great  solemnity,  they  depos- 


86  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ited  two  kegs  of  brandy, — "  and  this  tobacco  " — here  they 
deposited  a  roll  ten  pounds  in  weight.  "  He  has  made  a 
clean  road  for  you  to  come  and  see  him  and  his  officers  ; 
and  urges  you  to  come,  assuring  you  that  all  past  differ 
ences  will  be  forgotten." 

The  Piankesha  chief  replied  in  the  same  figurative 
style.  "It  is  true  our  father  has  sent  for  us  several 
times,  and  has  said  the  road  was  clear  ;  but  I  understand 
it  is  not  clear — it  is  foul  and  bloody,  and  the  French  have 
made  it  so.  We  have  cleared  a  road  for  our  brothers, 
the  English  ;  the  French  have  made  it  bad,  and  have 
taken  some  of  our  brothers  prisoners.  This  we  consider 
as  done  to  ourselves."  So  saying,  he  turned  his  back 
upon  the  ambassadors,  and  stalked  out  of  the  council- 
house. 

In  the  end  the  ambassadors  were  assured  that  the 
tribes  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Six  Nations  were  hand  in  hand 
with  their  brothers,  the  English  ;  and  should  war  ensue 
with  the  French,  they  were  ready  to  meet  it. 

So  the  French  colors  were  taken  down  ;  the  "  kegs  of 
milk  "  and  roll  of  tobacco  were  rejected ;  the  grand  coun 
cil  broke  up  with  a  war  dance,  and  the  ambassadors  de 
parted,  weeping  and  howling,  and  predicting  ruin  to  the 
Miamis. 

When  Gist  returned  to  the  Shawnee  town,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Scioto,  and  reported  to  his  Indian  friends 
there  the  alliance  he  had  formed  with  the  Miami  con 
federacy,  there  was  great  feasting  and  speech-making, 


GltiT'8  RETURN  ACROSS  KENTUCKY.  87 

and  firing  of  guns.  He  had  now  happily  accomplished 
the  chief  object  of  his  mission — nothing  remained  but  to 
descend  the  Ohio  to  the  Great  Falls.  This,  however,  he 
was  cautioned  not  to  do.  A  large  party  of  Indians,  allies 
of  the  French,  were  hunting  in  that  neighborhood,  who 
might  kill  or  capture  him.  He  crossed  the  river,  at 
tended  only  by  a  lad  as  a  travelling  companion  and  aid, 
and  proceeded  cautiously  down  the  east  side  until  within 
fifteen  miles  of  the  Falls.  Here  he  came  upon  traps 
newly  set,  and  Indian  footprints  not  a  day  old,  and  heard 
the  distant  report  of  guns.  The  story  of  Indian  hunters 
then  was  true.  He  was  in  a  dangerous  neighborhood. 
The  savages  might  come  upon  the  tracks  of  his  horses, 
or  hear  the  bells  put  about  their  necks,  when  turned 
loose  in  the  wilderness  to  graze. 

Abandoning  all  idea,  therefore,  of  visiting  the  Falls, 
and  contenting  himself  with  the  information  concerning 
them  which  he  had  received  from  others,  he  shaped  his 
course  on  the  18th  of  March  for  the  Cuttawa,  or  Kentucky 
River.  From  the  top  of  a  mountain  in  the  vicinity  he  had 
a  view  to  the  southwest  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
over  a  vast  woodland  country  in  the  fresh  garniture  of 
spring,  and  watered  by  abundant  streams ;  but  as  yet 
only  the  hunting-ground  of  savage  tribes,  and  the  scene 
of  their  sanguinary  combats.  In  a  word,  Kentucky  lay 
spread  out  before  him  in  all  its  wild  magnificence,  long 
before  it  was  beheld  by  Daniel  Boone. 

For  six  weeks  was  this  hardy  pioneer  making  his  toilful 


88  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

way  up  the  valley  of  the  Cuttawa,  or  Kentucky  River>  to 
the  banks  of  the  Blue  Stone;  often  checked  by  preci 
pices,  and  obliged  to  seek  fords  at  the  heads  of  tributary 
streams ;  and  happy  when  he  could  find  a  buffalo  path 
broken  through  the  tangled  forests,  or  worn  into  the  ever 
lasting  rocks. 

On  the  1st  of  May  he  climbed  a  rock  sixty  feet  high, 
crowning  a  lofty  mountain,  and  had  a  distant  view  of  the 
Great  Kanawha,  breaking  its  way  through  a  vast  sierra ; 
crossing  that  river  on  a  raft  of  his  own  construction,  he 
had  many  more  weary  days  before  him,  before  he  reached 
his  frontier  abode  on  the  banks  of  the  Yadkin.  He  ar 
rived  there  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  but  there  was  no 
one  to  welcome  the  wanderer  home.  There  had  been  an 
Indian  massacre  in  the  neighborhood,  and  he  found  his 
house  silent  and  deserted.  His  heart  sank  within  him, 
until  an  old  man  whom  he  met  near  the  place  assured 
him  his  family  were  safe,  having  fled  for  refuge  to  a  set 
tlement  thirty-five  miles  off,  on  the  banks  of  the  Boanoke. 
There  he  rejoined  them  on  the  following  day. 

While  Gist  had  been  making  his  painful  way  home 
ward,  the  two  Ottawa  ambassadors  had  returned  to  Fort 
Sandusky,  bringing  word  to  the  French  that  their  flag 
had  been  struck  in  the  council-house  at  Piqua,  and  their 
friendship  rejected  and  their  hostility  defied  by  the  Mi- 
amis.  They  informed  them  also  of  the  gathering  of  the 
western  tribes  that  was  to  take  place  at  Logstown,  to  con 
clude  a  treaty  with  the  Virginians. 


CAPTAIN  JONCAIRE.  89 

It  was  a  great  object  with  the  French  to  prevent  this 
treaty,  and  to  spirit  up  the  Ohio  Indians  against  the  Eng 
lish.  This  they  hoped  to  effect  through  the  agency  of  one 
Captain  Joncaire,  a  veteran  diplomatist  of  the  wilderness, 
whose  character  and  story  deserve  a  passing  notice. 

He  had  been  taken  prisoner  when  quite  young  by  the 
Iroquois,  and  adopted  into  one  of  their  tribes.  This  was 
the  making  of  his  fortune.  He  had  grown  up  among 
them,  acquired  their  language,  adapted  himself  to  their 
habits,  and  was  considered  by  them  as  one  of  themselves. 
On  returning  to  civilized  life  he  became  a  prime  instru 
ment,  in  the  hands  of  the  Canadian  government,  for  man 
aging  and  cajoling  the  Indians.  Sometimes  he  was  an 
ambassador  to  the  Iroquois;  sometimes  a  mediator  be 
tween  the  jarring  tribes ;  sometimes  a  leader  of  their  war 
riors  when  employed  by  the  French.  When  in  1728  the 
Delawares  and  Shawnees  migrated  to  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  Joncaire  was  the  agent  who  followed  them,  and 
prevailed  on  them  to  consider  themselves  under  French 
protection.  When  the  French  wanted  to  get  a  command 
ing  site  for  a  post  on  the  Iroquois  lands,  near  Niagara, 
Joncaire  was  the  man  to  manage  it.  He  craved  a  situa 
tion  where  he  might  put  up  a  wigwam,  and  dwell  among 
his  Iroquois  brethren.  It  was  granted,  of  course,  "for 
was  he  not  a  son  of  the  tribe — was  he  not  one  of  them 
selves  ?"  By  degrees  his  wigwam  grew  into  an  important 
trading  post :  ultimately  it  became  Fort  Niagara.  Years 
and  years  had  elapsed  ;  he  had  grown  gray  in  Indian 


90  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

diplomacy,   and   was   now   sent  once  more  to  maintain 
French  sovereignty  over  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

He  appeared  at  Logstown  accompanied  by  another 
Frenchman,  and  forty  Iroquois  warriors.  He  found  an 
assemblage  of  the  western  tribes,  feasting  and  rejoicing, 
and  firing  of  guns,  for  George  Croghan  and  Montour  the 
interpreter  were  there,  and  had  been  distributing  pres 
ents  on  behalf  of  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 

Joncaire  was  said  to  have  the  wit  of  a  Frenchman  and 
the  eloquence  of  an  Iroquois.  He  made  an  animated 
speech  to  the  chiefs  in  their  own  tongue,  the  gist  of 
which  was  that  their  father  Onontio  (that  is  to  say, 
the  Governor  of  Canada)  desired  his  children  of  the 
Ohio  to  turn  away  the  Indian  traders,  and  never  to  deal 
with  them  again  on  pain  of  his  displeasure ;  so  saying, 
he  laid  down  a  wampum  belt  of  uncommon  size,  by  way 
of  emphasis  to  his  message. 

For  once  his  eloquence  was  of  no  avail ;  a  chief  rose 
indignantly,  shook  his  finger  in  his  face,  and  stamping 
on  the  ground,  "  This  is  our  land,"  said  he.  "  What 
right  has  Onontio  here  ?  The  English  are  our  brothers. 
They  shall  live  among  us  as  long  as  one  of  us  is  alive. 
We  will  trade  with  them  and  not  with  you;"  and  so 
saying  he  rejected  the  belt  of  wampum. 

Joncaire  returned  to  an  advanced  post  recently  estab 
lished  on  the  upper  part  of  the  river,  whence  he  wrote 
to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania :  "  The  Marquis  de  la 
Jonquiere,  Governor  of  New  France,  having  ordered  me 


"  WHERE?  "  91 

to  watch  that  the  English  make  no  treaty  in  the  Ohio 
country,  I  have  signified  to  the  traders  of  your  govern 
ment  to  retire.  You  are  not  ignorant  that  all  these  lands 
belong  to  the  King  of  France,  and  that  the  English  have 
no  right  to  trade  in  them."  He  concluded  by  reiter 
ating  the  threat  made  two  years  previously  by  Celeron 
de  Bienville  against  all  intruding  fur  traders. 

In  the  meantime,  in  the  face  of  all  these  protests  and 
menaces,  Mr.  Gist,  under  sanction  of  the  Virginia  Legis 
lature,  proceeded  in  the  same  year  to  survey  the  lands 
within  the  grant  of  the  Ohio  Company,  lying  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Ohio  River,  as  far  down  as  the  Great 
Kanawha.  An  old  Delaware  sachem,  meeting  him  while 
thus  employed,  propounded  a  somewhat  puzzling  ques 
tion.  "  The  French,"  said  he,  "  claim  all  the  land  on  one 
side  of  the  Ohio,  the  English  claim  all  the  land  on  the 
other  side — now  where  does  the  Indians'  land  lie  ?  " 

Poor  savages !  Between  their  "  fathers,"  the  French, 
and  their  "brothers,"  the  English,  they  were  in  a  fair 
way  of  being  most  lovingly  shared  out  of  the  whole 
country. 


CHAPTER  VI 

PBRPARATIONS  FOR  HOSTILITIES.— WASHINGTON  APPOINTED  DISTRICT  ADJTf- 
TANT-GENERAL. — MOUNT  VERNON  A  SCHOOL  OF  ARMS. — ADJUTANT  MUSE,  A 
VETERAN  CAMPAIGNER. — JACOB  VAN  BRAAM,  THE  MASTER  OF  FENCE. — ILL 
HEALTH  OF  WASHINGTON'S  BROTHER  LAWRENCE.— VOYAGE  WITH  HIM  TO 
THE  WEST  INDIES.— SCENES  AT  BARBADOES.  —  TROPICAL  FRUITS.  —  BEEF 
STEAK  AND  TRIPE  CLUB.— RETURN  HOME  OF  WASHINGTON.— DEATH  OF  LAW 
RENCE. 

HE  French  prepared  for  hostile  contingencies. 
They  launched  an  armed  vessel  of  unusual  size 
on  Lake  Ontario,  fortified  their  trading  house 
at  Niagara,  strengthened  their  outposts,  and  advanced 
others  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Ohio.  A  stir  of  war 
like  preparation  was  likewise  to  be  observed  among  the 
British  colonies.  It  was  evident  that  the  adverse  claims 
to  the  disputed  territories,  if  pushed  home,  could  only 
be  settled  by  the  stern  arbitrament  of  the  sword. 

In  Virginia,  especially,  the  war  spirit  was  manifest. 
The  province  was  divided  into  military  districts,  each 
having  an  adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and 
the  pay  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  year,  whose 
duty  was  to  attend  to  the  organization  and  equipment  of 
the  militia. 


MOUNT   VERNON  A  SCHOOL   OF  ARMS.  93 

Such  an  appointment  was  sought  by  Lawrence  Wash 
ington  for  his  brother  George.  It  shows  what  must  have 
been  the  maturity  of  mind  of  the  latter,  and  the  confi 
dence  inspired  by  his  judicious  conduct  and  aptness  for 
business,  that  the  post  should  not  only  be  sought  for  him, 
but  readily  obtained,  though  he  was  yet  but  nineteen  years 
of  age.  He  proved  himself  worthy  of  the  appointment. 

He  now  set  about  preparing  himself,  with  his  usual 
method  and  assiduity,  for  his  new  duties.  Virginia  had 
among  its  floating  population  some  military  relics  of  the 
late  Spanish  war.  Among  these  was  a  certain  Adjutant 
Muse,  a  Westmoreland  volunteer,  who  had  served  with 
Lawrence  Washington  in  the  campaigns  in  the  West  In 
dies,  and  had  been  with  him  in  the  attack  on  Carthagena, 
He  now  undertook  to  instruct  his  brother  George  in  the 
art  of  war,  lent  him  treatises  on  military  tactics,  put  him 
through  the  manual  exercise,  and  gave  him  some  idea 
of  evolutions  in  the  field.  Another  of  Lawrence's  cam 
paigning  comrades  was  Jacob  Yan  Braam,  a  Dutchman 
by  birth,  a  soldier  of  fortune  of  the  Dalgetty  order ;  wha 
had  been  in  the  British  army,  but  was  now  out  of  service,, 
and,  professing  to  be  a  complete  master  of  fence,  re 
cruited  his  slender  purse  in  this  time  of  military  excite 
ment,  by  giving  the  Virginian  youth  lessons  in  the  sword 
exercise. 

Under  the  instructions  of  these  veterans,  Mount  Ver- 
non,  from  being  a  quiet  rural  retreat,  where  Washington, 
three  years  previously,  had  indited  love_  ditties  to  his. 


94  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

"lowland  beauty,"  was  suddenly  transformed  ii*eo  a 
school  of  arms,  as  he  practiced  the  manual  exercise  with 
Adjutant  Muse,  or  took  lessons  on  the  broadsword  from 
Van  Braam. 

His  martial  studies,  however,  were  interrupted  for  a 
time  by  the  critical  state  of  his  brother's  health.  The 
constitution  of  Lawrence  had  always  been  delicate,  and 
he  had  been  obliged  repeatedly  to  travel  for  a  change  of 
air.  There  were  now  pulmonary  symptoms  of  a  threat 
ening  nature,  and  by  advice  of  his  physicians  he  deter 
mined  to  pass  a  winter  in  the  West  Indies,  taking  with 
him  his  favorite  brother  George  as  a  companion. 

They  accordingly  sailed  for  Barbadoes  on  the  28th  of 
September,  1751.  George  kept  a  journal  of  the  voyage 
with  logbook  brevity ;  recording  the  wind  and  weather, 
but  no  events  worth  citation.  They  landed  at  Barbadoes 
on  the  3d  of  November.  The  resident  physician  of  the 
place  gave  a  favorable  report  of  Lawrence's  case,  and  held 
out  hopes  of  a  cure.  The  brothers  were  delighted  with 
the  aspect  of  the  country,  as  they  drove  out  in  the  cool 
of  the  evening,  and  beheld  on  all  sides  fields  of  sugar 
cane  and  Indian  corn,  and  groves  of  tropical  trees,  in 
full  fruit  and  foliage. 

They  took  up  their  abode  at  a  house  pleasantly  situ 
ated  about  a  mile  from  town,  commanding  an  extensive 
prospect  of  sea  and  land,  including  Carlyle  Bay  and  its 
shipping,  and  belonging  to  Captain  Crofton,  commander 
of  James  Fort. 


SCENES  AT  BARBADOES.  95 

Barbadoes  had  its  theatre,  at  which  Washington  wit 
nessed  for  the  first  time  a  dramatic  representation,  a 
species  of  amusement  of  which  he  afterwards  became 
fond.  It  was  in  the  present  instance  the  doleful 
tragedy  of  George  Barnwell.  "The  character  of  Barn- 
well,  and  several  others,"  notes  he  in  his  journal,  "  were 
said  to  be  well  performed.  There  was  music  adapted 
and  regularly  conducted."  A  safe  but  abstemious  crit 
icism. 

Among  the  hospitalities  of  the  place  the  brothers  were 
invited  to  the  house  of  a  Judge  Maynards,  to  dine  with 
an  association  of  the  first  people  of  the  place,  who  met 
at  each  other's  house  alternately  every  Saturday,  under 
the  incontestably  English  title  of  "The  Beefsteak  and 
Tripe  Club."  "Washington  notes  with  admiration  the  pro 
fusion  of  tropical  fruits  with  which  the  table  was  loaded, 
"the  granadilla,  sapadella,  pomegranate,  sweet  orange, 
water-lemon,  forbidden  fruit,  and  guava."  The  homely 
prosaic  beefsteak  and  tripe  must  have  contrasted  strange 
ly,  though  sturdily,  with  these  magnificent  poetical  fruits 
of  the  tropics.  But  John  Bull  is  faithful  to  his  native 
habits  and  native  dishes,  whatever  may  be  the  country  or 
clime,  and  would  set  up  a  chop-house  at  the  very  gates  of 
paradise. 

The  brothers  had  scarcely  been  a  fortnight  at  the  island 
when  George  was  taken  down  by  a  severe  attack  of  small 
pox.  Skillful  medical  treatment,  with  the  kind  attentions 
of  friends,  and  especially  of  his  brother  restored  him  to 


96  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

health  in  about  three  weeks ;  but  his  face  always  remained 
slightly  marked. 

After  his  recovery  he  made  excursions  about  the  island, 
noticing  its  soil,  productions,  fortifications,  public  works, 
and  the  manners  of  its  inhabitants.  While  admiring  the 
productiveness  of  the  sugar  plantations,  he  was  shocked 
at  the  spendthrift  habits  of  the  planters,  and  their  utter 
want  of  management. 

"How  wonderful,"  writes  he,  "that  such  people  should 
be  in  debt,  and  not  be  able  to  indulge  themselves  in  all 
the  luxuries,  as  well  as  the  necessaries  of  life.  Yet  so  it 
happens.  Estates  are  often  alienated  for  debts.  How 
persons  coming  to  estates  of  two,  three,  and  four  hundred 
acres  can  want,  is  to  me  most  wonderful."  How  much 
does  this  wonder  speak  for  his  own  scrupulous  principle 
of  always  living  within  compass. 

The  residence  at  Barbadoes  failed  to  have  the  antici 
pated  effect  on  the  health  of  Lawrence,  and  he  deter 
mined  to  seek  the  sweet  climate  of  Bermuda  in  the 
spring.  He  felt  the  absence  from  his  wife,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  George  should  return  to  Virginia,  and  bring 
her  out  to  meet  him  at  that  island.  Accordingly,  on  the 
22d  of  December,  George  set  sail  in  the  Industry,  bound 
to  Virginia,  where  he  arrived  on  the  1st  of  February, 
1752,  after  five  weeks  of  stormy  winter  seafaring. 

Lawrence  remained  through  the  winter  at  Barbadoes  ; 
but  the  very  mildness  of  the  climate  relaxed  and  ener 
vated  him.  He  felt  the  want  of  the  bracing  winter  weather 


LAWRENCE'S  LAST  ILLNE98.  97 

to  which  he  had  been  accustomed.  Even  the  invariable 
beauty  of  the  climate,  the  perpetual  summer,  wearied  the 
restless  invalid.  "  This  is  the  finest  island  of  the  West 
Indies,"  said  he ;  "  but  I  own  no  place  can  please  me 
without  a  change  of  seasons.  We  soon  tire  of  the  same 
prospect."  A  consolatory  truth  for  the  inhabitants  of 
more  capricious  climes. 

Still  some  of  the  worst  symptoms  of  his  disorder  had 
disappeared,  and  he  seemed  to  be  slowly  recovering ; 
but  the  nervous  restlessness  and  desire  of  change,  often 
incidental  to  his  malady,  had  taken  hold  of  him,  and 
early  in  March  he  hastened  to  Bermuda.  He  had  come 
too  soon.  The  keen  air  of  early  spring  brought  on  an 
aggravated  return  of  his  worst  symptoms.  "  I  have  now 
got  to  my  last  refuge,"  writes  he  to  a  friend,  "  where  I 
must  receive  my  final  sentence,  which  at  present  Dr. 
Forbes  will  not  pronounce.  He  leaves  me,  however,  I 
think,  like  a  criminal  condemned,  though  not  without 
hopes  of  reprieve.  But  this  I  am  to  obtain  by  merito 
riously  abstaining  from  flesh  of  every  sort,  and  all  strong 
liquors,  and  by  riding  as  much  as  I  can  bear.  These  are 
the  only  terms  on  which  I  am  to  hope  for  life." 

He  was  now  afflicted  with  painful  indecision,  and  his 
letters  perplexed  his  family,  leaving  them  uncertain  as  to 
his  movements,  and  at  a  loss  how  to  act.  At  one  time  he 
talked  of  remaining  a  year  at  Bermuda,  and  wrote  to  his 
wife  to  come  out  with  George  and  rejoin  him  there  ;  but 
the  very  same  letter  shows  his  irresolution  and  uncer- 
VOL.  i. — ? 


98  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

tainty,  for  lie  leaves  her  coming  to  the  decision  of  herself 
and  friends.  As  to  his  own  movements,  he  says,  "  Six 
weeks  will  determine  me  what  to  resolve  on.  Forbes 
advises  the  south  of  France,  or  else  Barbadoes."  The 
very  next  letter,  written  shortly  afterwards  in  a  moment 
of  despondency,  talks  of  the  possibility  of  "hurrying 
home  to  his  grave  ! " 

The  last  was  no  empty  foreboding.  He  did  indeed 
hasten  back,  and  just  reached  Mount  Vernon  in  time  to 
die  under  his  own  roof,  surrounded  by  his  family  and 
friends,  and  attended  in  his  last  moments  by  that  brother 
on  whose  manly  affection  his  heart  seemed  to  repose. 
His  death  took  place  on  the  26th  July,  1752,  when  but 
thirty-four  years  of  age.  He  was  a  noble-spirited,  pure- 
minded,  accomplished  gentleman ;  honored  by  the  public, 
and  beloved  by  his  friends.  The  paternal  care  ever  man 
ifested  by  him  for  his  youthful  brother,  George,  and  the 
influence  his  own  character  and  conduct  must  have  had 
upon  him  in  his  ductile  years,  should  link  their  memories 
together  in  history,  and  endear  the  name  of  Lawrence 
Washington  to  every  American. 

Lawrence  left  a  wife  and  an  infant  daughter  to  inherit 
his  ample  estates.  In  case  his  daughter  should  die  with 
out  issue,  the  estate  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  other  lands 
specified  in  his  will,  were  to  be  enjoyed  by  her  mother 
during  her  lifetime,  and  at  her  death  to  be  inherited  by 
his  brother  George.  The  latter  was  appointed  one  of  tha 
executors  of  the  will;  but  such  was  the  implicit  con- 


YOUNG   WASHINGTON'S  INTEGRITY.  99 

fidence  reposed  in  his  judgment  and  integrity,  that,  al 
though  he  was  but  twenty  years  of  age,  the  management 
of  the  affairs  of  the  deceased  was  soon  devolved  upon  him 
almost  entirely.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  were  man 
aged  with  consummate  skill  and  scrupulous  fidelity. 


CHAPTEE  VIL 


3OUNCIL  OF  THE  OHIO  TRIBES  AT  LOGSTOWN.— TREATY  WITH  THE  ENGLISH.— 
GIST'S  SETTLEMENT.— SPEECHES  OP  THE  HALF-KING  AND  THE  FRENCH  COM 
MANDANT.— FRENCH  AGGRESSIONS.— THE  RUINS  OF  PIQUA.— WASHINGTON 
SENT  ON  A  MISSION  TO  THE  FRENCH  COMMANDER.— JACOB  VAN  BRAAM,  HIS 
INTERPRETER. — CHRISTOPHER  GIST,  HIS  GUIDE. — HALT  AT  THE  CONFLU 
ENCE  OF  THE  MONONGAHELA  AND  ALLEGHANT. — PROJECTED  FORT. — SHIN- 
GISS,  A  DELAWARE  SACHEM.— LOGSTOWN.— THE  HALF-KING.— INDIAN  COUN 
CILS.— INDIAN  DIPLOMACY.— RUMORS  CONCERNING  JONCAIRE.— INDIAN  ES 
CORTS.— THE  HALF-KING,  JESKAKAKE,  AND  WHITE  THUNDER. 


HE  meeting  of  the  Ohio  tribes,  Delawares, 
Shawnees,  and  Mingoes,  to  form  a  treaty  of 
alliance  with  Virginia,  took  place  at  Logs  town, 
at  the  appointed  time.  The  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations 
declined  to  attend.  "  It  is  not  our  custom,"  said  they 
proudly,  "to  meet  to  treat  of  affairs  in  the  woods  and 
weeds.  If  the  Governor  of  Virginia  wants  to  speak  with 
ns,  and  deliver  us  a  present  from  our  father  (the  king), 
we  will  meet  him  at  Albany,  where  we  expect  the  Gor 
ernor  of  New  York  will  be  present."  * 

At  Logstown,  Colonel  Fry  and  two  other  commission 
ers  from   Virginia   concluded  a  treaty   with   the   tribes 

*  Letter  of  Col.  Johnson  to  Gk>v.  Clinton,  Doc.  Hist.  2f.  T.  ii.  634, 

100 


GIST'S  SETTLEMENT. 


above  named,  by  which  the  latter  engaged  not  to  molest 
any  English  settlers  south  of  the  Ohio.  Tanacharisson, 
the  half-king,  now  advised  that  his  brothers  of  Virginia 
should  build  a  strong  house  at  the  fork  of  the  Mononga- 
hela,  to  resist  the  designs  of  the  French.  Mr.  Gist  was 
accordingly  instructed  to  lay  out  a  town  and  build  a  fort 
at  Chartier's  Creek,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Ohio,  a  little 
below  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Pittsburg.  He  com 
menced  a  settlement,  also,  in  a  valley  just  beyond  Laurel 
Hill,  not  far  from  the  Youghiogheny,  and  prevailed  on 
eleven  families  to  join  him.  The  Ohio  Company,  about 
the  same  time,  established  a  trading  post,  well  stocked 
with  English  goods,  at  Wills'  Creek  (now  the  town  of 
Cumberland). 

The  Ohio  tribes  were  greatly  incensed  at  the  aggres 
sions  of  the  French,  who  were  erecting  posts  within  their 
territories,  and  sent  deputations  to  remonstrate,  but 
without  effect.  The  half-king,  as  chief  of  the  western 
tribes,  repaired  to  the  French  post  on  Lake  Erie,  where 
he  made  his  complaint  in  person. 

"Fathers,"  said  he,  "you  are  the  disturbers  of  this 
land  by  building  towns,  and  taking  the  country  from  us 
by  fraud  and  for^e.  We  kindled  a  fire  a  long  time  ago  at 
Montreal,  where  we  desired  you  to  stay  and  not  to  come 
and  intrude  upon  our  land.  I  now  advise  you  to  return 
to  that  place,  for  this  land  is  ours. 

"  If  you  had  come  in  a  peaceable  manner,  like  our 
brothers  the  English,  we  should  have  traded  with  you  as 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

we  do  with  them ;  but  that  you  should  come  and  build 
houses  on  our  land,  and  take  it  by  force,  is  what  we  can 
not  submit  to.  Both  you  and  the  English  are  white.  We 
live  in  a  country  between  you  both ;  the  land  belongs  to 
neither  of  you.  The  Great  Being  allotted  it  to  us  as  a 
residence.  So,  fathers,  I  desire  you,  as  I  have  desired 
our  brothers  the  English,  to  withdraw,  for  I  will  keep 
you  both  at  arm's  length.  "Whichever  most  regards  this 
request,  that  side  will  we  stand  by  and  consider  friends. 
Our  brothers  the  English  have  hoard  this,  and  I  now 
come  to  tell  it  to  you,  for  I  am  not  afraid  to  older  you 
off  this  land." 

"  Child,"  replied  the  French  commandant,  "  you  talk 
foolishly.  You  say  this  land  belongs  to  you;  there  is 
not  the  black  of  my  nail  yours.  It  is  my  land,  and  I  will 
have  it,  let  who  will  stand  up  against  me.  I  am  not 
afraid  of  flies  and  musquitoes,  for  as  such  I  consider  the 
Indians.  I  tell  you  that  down  the  river  I  will  go,  and 
build  upon  it.  If  it  were  blocked  up  I  have  forces  suffi 
cient  to  burst  it  open  and  trample  down  all  who  oppose 
me.  My  force  is  as  the  sand  upon  the  sea-shore.  There 
fore  here  is  your  wampum ;  I  fling  it  at  you." 

Tanacharisson  returned,  wounded  at  heart,  both  by 
the  language  and  the  haughty  manner  of  the  French 
commandant.  He  saw  the  ruin  impending  over  his  race, 
but  looked  with  hope  and  trust  to  the  English  as  the 
power  least  disposed  to  wrong  the  red  man. 

French   influence   was   successful   in   other    quarters 


FRENCH  AGGRESSIONS.  103 

Some  of  the  Indians  who  had  been  friendly  to  the  Eng 
lish  showed  signs  of  alienation.  Others  menaced  hos 
tilities.  There  were  reports  that  the  French  were 
ascending  the  Mississippi  from  Louisiana.  France,  it 
was  said,  intended  to  connect  Louisiana  and  Canada  by 
a  chain  of  military  posts,  and  hem  the  English  within 
the  Alleghany  Mountains. 

The  Ohio  Company  complained  loudly  to  the  Lieuten 
ant-governor  of  Virginia,  the  Hon.  Kobert  Dinwiddie,  of 
the  hostile  conduct  of  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies. 
They  found  in  Dinwiddie  a  ready  listener;  he  was  a 
stockholder  in  the  Company. 

A  commissioner,  Captain  William  Trent,  was  sent  to 
expostulate  with  the  French  commander  on  the  Ohio  for 
his  aggressions  on  the  territory  of  His  Britannic  Majesty ; 
he  bore  presents  also  of  guns,  powder,  shot,  and  clothing 
for  the  friendly  Indians. 

Trent  was  not  a  man  of  the  true  spirit  for  a  mission  to 
the  frontier.  He  stopped  a  short  time  at  Logstown, 
though  the  French  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
further  up  the  river,  and  directed  his  course  to  Piqua, 
the  great  town  of  the  Twightwees,  where  Gist  and  Cro- 
ghan  had  been  so  well  received  by  the  Miamis,  and  the 
French  flag  struck  in  the  council-house.  All  now  was 
reversed.  The  place  had  been  attacked  by  the  French 
and  Indians  ;  the  Miamis  defeated  with  great  loss ;  the 
English  traders  taken  prisoners  ;  the  Piankesha  chief, 
who  had  so  proudly  turned  his  back  upon  the  Ottawa 


104  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ambassadors,  had  been  sacrificed  by  the  hostile  savages, 
and  the  French  flag  hoisted  in  triumph  on  the  ruins  of 
the  town.  The  whole  aspect  of  affairs  was  so  threaten 
ing  on  the  frontier,  that  Trent  lost  heart,  and  returned 
home  without  accomplishing  his  errand. 

Governor  Dinwiddie  now  looked  round  for  a  person 
more  fitted  to  fulfill  a  mission  which  required  physical 
strength  and  moral  energy,  a  courage  to  cope  with  sav 
ages,  and  a  sagacity  to  negotiate  with  white  men.  Wash 
ington  was  pointed  out  as  possessed  of  those  requisites. 
It  is  true  he  was  not  yet  twenty-two  years  of  age,  but 
public  confidence  in  his  judgment  and  abilities  had  been 
manifested  a  second  time,  by  renewing  his  appointment 
of  adjutant-general,  and  assigning  him  the  northern  di 
vision.  He  was  acquainted,  too,  with  the  matters  in  liti 
gation,  having  been  in  the  bosom  councils  of  his  deceased 
brother.  His  woodland  experience  fitted  him  for  an  ex 
pedition  through  the  wilderness,  and  his  great  discretion 
and  self-command  for  a  negotiation  with  wily  command 
ers  and  fickle  savages.  He  was  accordingly  chosen  for 
the  expedition. 

By  his  letter  of  instructions  he  was  directed  to  repair 
to  Logstown,  and  hold  a  communication  with  Tanacha- 
risson,  Monacatoocha,  alias  Scarooyadi,  the  next  in  com 
mand,  and  the  other  sachems  of  the  mixed  tribes  friendly 
to  the  English,  inform  them  of  the  purport  of  his  errand, 
and  request  an  escort  to  the  head-quarters  of  the  French 
commander.  To  that  commander  he  was  to  delivei  his 


WASHINGTON'S  MISSION.  105 

credentials,  and  the  letter  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  and 
demand  an  answer  in  the  name  of  His  Britannic  Majesty ; 
but  not  to  wait  for  it  beyond  a  week.  On  receiving  it, 
he  was  to  request  a  sufficient  escort  to  protect  him  on 
his  return. 

He  was,  moreover,  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  num 
bers  and  force  of  the  French  stationed  on  the  Ohio  and 
in  its  vicinity ;  their  capability  of  being  reinforced  from 
Canada ;  the  forts  they  had  erected ;  where  sitiiated,  how 
garrisoned ;  the  object  of  their  advancing  into  those 
parts,  and  how  they  were  likely  to  be  supported. 

Washington  set  off  from  Williamsburg  on  the  30th  of 
October  (1753),  the  very  day  on  which  he  received  his 
credentials.  At  Fredericksburg  he  engaged  his  old 
"  master  of  fence,"  Jacob  Yan  Braam,  to  accompany  him 
as  interpreter  ;  though  it  would  appear  from  subsequent 
circumstances,  that  the  veteran  swordsman  was  but  in 
differently  versed  either  in  French  or  English. 

Having  provided  himself  at  Alexandria  with  neces 
saries  for  the  journey,  he  proceeded  to  Winchester, 
then  on  the  frontier,  where  he  procured  horses,  tents, 
and  other  travelling  equipments,  and  then  pushed  on  by 
a  road  newly  opened  to  Will's  Creek  (town  of  Cumber 
land),  where  he  arrived  on  the  14th  of  November. 

Here  he  met  with  Mr.  Gist,  the  intrepid  pioneer,  who 
had  explored  the  Ohio  in  the  employ  of  the  Company, 
and  whom  he  engaged  to  accompany  and  pilot  him  in 
the  present  expedition.  He  secured  the  services  also  of 


106  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

one  John  Davidson  as  Indian  interpreter,  and  of  four 
frontiersmen,  two  of  whom  were  Indian  traders.  With 
this  little  band,  and  his  swordsman  and  interpreter,  Jacob 
Yan  Braam,  he  set  forth  on  the  15th  of  November, 
through  a  wild  country  rendered  almost  impassable  by 
recent  storms  of  rain  and  snow. 

At  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek,  on  the  Monongahela,  he 
found  John  Frazier,  the  Indian  trader,  some  of  whose 
people,  as  heretofore  stated,  had  been  sent  off  prisoners 
to  Canada.  Frazier  himself  had  recently  been  ejected  by 
the  French  from  the  Indian  village  of  Yenango,  where  he 
had  a  gunsmith's  establishment.  According  to  his  ac 
count  the  French  general  who  had  commanded  on  this 
frontier  was  dead,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  forces  were 
retired  into  winter  quarters. 

As  the  rivers  were  all  swollen  so  that  the  horses  had 
to  swim  them,  Washington  sent  all  the  baggage  down 
the  Monongahela  in  a  canoe  under  care  of  two  of  the 
men,  who  had  orders  to  meet  him  at  the  confluence  of 
that  river  with  the  Alleghany,  where  their  united  waters 
form  the  Ohio. 

"As  I  got  down  before  the  canoe,"  writes  he  in  his 
journal,  "I  spent  some  time  in  viewing  the  rivers,  and 
the  land  at  the  Fork,  which  I  think  extremely  well  sit 
uated  for  a  fort,  as  it  has  the  absolute  command  of  both 
rivers.  The  land  at  the  point  is  twenty  or  twenty-five 
feet  above  the  common  surface  of  the  water,  and  a  con 
siderable  bottom  of  flat,  well-timbered  land  all  around 


THE  FORK  OF  THE  OHIO.  107 

it,  very  convenient  for  building.  The  rivers  are  each  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  or  more  across,  and  run  here  very 
nearly  at  right  angles  ;  Alleghany  bearing  northeast,  and 
Monongahela  southeast.  The  former  of  these  two  is  a 
very  rapid  and  swift-running  water,  the  other  deep  and 
still,  without  any  perceptible  fall."  The  Ohio  Company 
had  intended  to  build  a  fort  about  two  miles  from  this 
place,  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  river ;  but  Washing 
ton  gave  the  Fork  the  decided  preference.  French  engi 
neers  of  experience  proved  the  accuracy  of  his  military 
eye,  by  subsequently  choosing  it  for  the  site  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  noted  in  frontier  history. 

In  this  neighborhood  lived  Shingiss,  the  king  or  chiel 
sachem  of  the  Delawares.  Washington  visited  him  at 
his  village,  to  invite  him  to  the  council  at  Logstown. 
He  was  one  of  the  greatest  warriors  of  his  tribe,  and  sub 
sequently  took  up  the  hatchet  at  various  times  against 
the  English,  though  now  he  seemed  favorably  disposed, 
and  readily  accepted  the  invitation. 

They  arrived  at  Logstown  after  sunset  on  the  24th  of 
November.  The  half-king  was  absent  at  his  hunting 
lodge  on  Beaver  Creek,  about  fifteen  miles  distant ;  but 
Washington  had  runners  sent  out  to  invite  him  and  all 
the  other  chiefs  to  a  grand  talk  on  the  following  day. 

In  the  morning  four  French  deserters  came  into  the 
village.  They  had  deserted  from  a  company  of  one  hun 
dred  men,  sent  up  from  New  Orleans  with  eight  canoes 
laden  with  provisions,  Washington  drew  from  them  au 


108  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

account  of  the  French  force  at  New  Orleans,  and  of  the 
forts  along  the  Mississippi,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wa- 
bash,  by  which  they  kept  up  a  communication  with  the 
lakes ;  all  which  he  carefully  noted  down.  The  deserters 
were  on  their  way  to  Philadelphia,  conducted  by  a  Penn 
sylvania  trader. 

About  three  o'clock  the  half-king  arrived.  Washing 
ton  had  a  private  conversation  with  him  in  his  tent, 
through  Davidson,  the  interpreter.  He  found  him  intelli 
gent,  patriotic,  and  proudly  tenacious  of  his  territorial 
rights.  We  have  already  cited  from  Washington's  pa 
pers,  the  account  given  by  this  chief  in  this  conversation, 
of  his  interview  with  the  late  French  commander.  He 
stated,  moreover,  that  the  French  had  built  two  forts,  dif 
fering  in  size,  but  on  the  same  model,  a  plan  of  which  he 
gave,  of  his  own  drawing.  The  largest  was  on  Lake 
Erie,  the  other  on  French  Creek,  fifteen  miles  apart,  with 
a  wagon  road  between  them.  The  nearest  and  levelest 
way  to  them  was  now  impassable,  lying  through  large  and 
miry  savannas  ;  they  would  have,  therefore,  to  go  by  Ve- 
nango,  and  it  would  take  five  or  six  sleeps  (or  days)  of 
good  travelling  to  reach  the  nearest  fort. 

On  the  following  morning  at  nine  o'clock  the  chiefs 
assembled  in  the  council-house  ;  where  Washington,  ac 
cording  to  his  instructions,  informed  them  that  he  was 
sent  by  their  brother,  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  to 
deliver  to  the  French  commandant  a  letter  of  great  im 
portance,  both  to  their  brothers  the  English  and  to 


INDIAN  COUNCIL.  109 

shemselves ;  and  that  he  was  to  ask  their  advice  and 
assistance,  and  some  of  their  young  men  to  accompany 
and  provide  for  him  on  the  way,  and  be  his  safeguard 
against  the  "  French  Indians  "  who  had  taken  up  the 
hatchet.  He  concluded  by  presenting  the  indispensable 
document  in  Indian  diplomacy,  a  string  of  wampum. 

The  chiefs,  according  to  etiquette,  sat  for  some  mo 
ments  silent  after  he  had  concluded,  as  if  ruminating 
on  what  had  been  said,  or  to  give  him  time  for  further 
remark. 

The  half-king  then  rose  and  spoke  in  behalf  of  the 
tribes,  assuring  him  that  they  considered  the  English  and 
themselves  brothers,  and  one  people  ;  and  that  they  in 
tended  to  return  the  French  the  "  speech-belts,"  or  wam 
pums,  which  the  latter  had  sent  them.  This,  in  Indian 
diplomacy,  is  a  renunciation  of  all  friendly  relations.  An 
escort  would  be  furnished  to  Washington  composed  of 
Mingoes,  Shannoahs,  and  Delawares,  in  token  of  the  love 
and  loyalty  of  those  several  tribes  ;  but  three  days  would 
be  required  to  prepare  for  the  journey. 

"Washington  remonstrated  against  such  delay  ;  but  was 
informed  that  an  affair  of  such  moment,  where  three 
speech-belts  were  to  be  given  up,  was  not  to  be  entered 
into  without  due  consideration.  Besides,  the  young  men 
who  were  to  form  the  escort  were  absent  hunting,  and 
the  half-king  could  not  suffer  the  party  to  go  without  suffi 
cient  protection.  His  own  French  speech-belt,  also,  was 
at  his  hunting  lodge,  whither  he  must  go  in  quest  of  it. 


HO  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Moreover,  the  Shannoah  chiefs  were  yet  absent  and 
be  waited  for.  In  short,  Washington  had  his  first  lesson 
in  Indian  diplomacy,  which  for  punctilio,  ceremonial,  and 
secret  maneuvering,  is  equal  at  least  to  that  of  civilized 
life.  He  soon  found  that  to  urge  a  more  speedy  depart 
ure  would  be  offensive  to  Indian  dignity  and  decorum,  so 
he  was  fain  to  await  the  gathering  together  of  the  dif 
ferent  chiefs  with  their  speech-belts. 

In  fact  there  was  some  reason  for  all  this  caution. 
Tidings  had  reached  the  sachems  that  Captain  Joncaire 
had  called  a  meeting  at  Venango,  of  the  Mingoes,  Dela- 
wares,  and  other  tribes,  and  made  them  a  speech,  in 
forming  them  that  the  French,  for  the  present,  had  gone 
into  winter  quarters,  but  intended  to  descend  the  river 
in  great  force,  and  fight  the  English  in  the  spring.  He 
had  advised  them,  therefore,  to  stand  aloof,  for  should 
they  interfere,  the  French  and  English  would  join,  cut 
them  all  off,  and  divide  their  land  between  them. 

With  these  rumors  preying  on  their  minds,  the  half- 
king  and  three  other  chiefs  waited  on  Washington  in  his 
tent  in  the  evening,  and  after  representing  that  they 
had  complied  with  all  the  requisitions  of  the  Governor 
of  Virginia,  endeavored  to  draw  from  the  youthful  am 
bassador  the  true  purport  of  his  mission  to  the  French 
commandant.  Washington  had  anticipated  an  inquiry 
of  the  kind,  knowing  how  natural  it  was  that  these  poor 
people  should  regard  with  anxiety  and  distrust  every 
movement  of  two  formidable  powers  thus  pressing  upou 


INDIAN  ESCORTS.  1H 

them  from  opposite  sides ;  he  managed,  however,  to  an 
swer  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  allay  their  solicitude 
without  transcending  the  bounds  of  diplomatic  secrecy. 

After  a  day  or  two  more  of  delay  and  further  consul- 
tations  in  the  council-house,  the  chiefs  determined  that 
but  three  of  their  number  should  accompany  the  mission, 
as  a  greater  number  might  awaken  the  suspicions  of  the 
French.  Accordingly,  on  the  30th  of  November  Wash 
ington  set  out  for  the  French  post,  having  his  usual 
party  augmented  by  an  Indian  hunter,  and  being  accom 
panied  by  the  half-king,  an  old  Shannoah  sachem  named 
Jeskakake,  and  another  chief,  called  sometimes  Belt  of 
Wampum,  from  being  the  keeper  of  the  speech-belts,  but 
generally  bearing  the  sounding  appellation  of  White 
Thunder. 


CHAPTEK  Yin. 

AfcRIVAl,    AT    VBNANGO.— CAPTAIN     JONCAIBE.— FRONTIER    REVELRY.— DISCUS 
SIONS  OVER  THE   BOTTLE. — THE   OLD    DIPLOMATIST  AND  THE   YOUNG. THB 

HALF-KING,  JESKAKAKE,  AND  WHITE  THUNDER  STAGGERED.— THE  SPEECH- 
BELT.— DEPARTURE.— LA  FORCE,  THE  WILY  COMMISSARY.— FORT  AT  FRENCH 
CREEK. — THE  CHEVALIER  LEGARDEUR  DE  ST.  PIERRE,  KNIGHT  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 
—CAPTAIN  REPARTI.— TRANSACTIONS  AT  THE  FORT.— ATTEMPTS  TO  SEDUCE 
THE  SACHEMS.— MISCHIEF  BREWING  ON  THE  FRONTIER.— DIFFICULTIES  AND 
DELAYS  IN  PARTING. — DESCENT  OF  FRENCH  CREEK. — ARRIVAL  AT  VENANGO. 

ILTHOUGH  the  distance  to  Venango,  by  the 
route  taken,  was  not  above  seventy  miles,  yet 
such  was  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  and 
the  difficulty  of  travelling,  that  Washington  and  his  party 
did  not  arrive  there  until  the  4th  of  December.  The 
French  colors  were  flying  at  a  house  whence  John  Fra- 
zier,  the  English  trader,  had  been  driven.  Washington 
repaired  thither,  and  inquired  of  three  French  officers 
whom  he  saw  there  where  the  commandant  resided.  One 
of  them  promptly  replied  that  he  "  had  the  command  of 
the  Ohio."  It  was,  in  fact,  the  redoubtable  Captain  Jon- 
caire,  the  veteran  intriguer  of  the  frontier.  On  being 
apprised,  however,  of  the  nature  of  Washington's  errand, 
he  informed  him  that  there  was  a  general  officer  at  the 

112 


CAPTAIN  JONCAIRE.  113 

next  fort,  where  lie  advised  him  to  apply  for  an  answer 
to  the  letter  of  which  he  was  the  bearer. 

In  the  meantime,  he  invited  Washington  and  his  party 
to  a  supper  at  head-quarters.  It  proved  a  jovial  one,  for 
Joncaire  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  of  a  boon  com 
panion,  and  there  is  always  ready  though  rough  hospi 
tality  in  the  wilderness.  It  is  true,  Washington,  for  so 
young  a  man,  may  not  have  had  the  most  convivial  air, 
but  there  may  have  been  a  moist  look  of  promise  in  the 
old  soldier  Yan  Braam. 

Joncaire  and  his  brother  officers  pushed  the  bottle 
briskly.  "  The  wine,"  says  Washington,  "  as  they  dosed 
themselves  pretty  plentifully  with  it,  soon  banished  the 
restraint  which  at  first  appeared  in  their  conversation, 
and  gave  a  license  to  their  tongues  to  reveal  their  senti 
ments  more  freely.  They  told  me  that  it; was  their  abso 
lute  design  to  take  possession  of  the  Ohio,  and  by  G — 
they  would  do  it ;  for  that  although  they  were  sensible 
the  English  could  raise  two  men  for  their  one,  yet  they 
knew  their  motions  were  too  slow  and  dilatory  to  prevent 
any  undertaking.  They  pretend  to  have  an  unbounded 
right  to  the  river  from  a  discovery  made  by  one  La  Salle 
sixty  years  ago,  and  the  rise  of  this  expedition  is  to  pre 
vent  our  settling  on  the  river  or  the  waters  of  it,  as  they 
heard  of  some  families  moving  out  in  order  thereto." 

Washington  retained  his  sobriety  and  his  composure 
throughout  all  the  rodomontade  and  bacchanalian  out 
break  of  the  mercurial  Frenchmen ;  leaving  the  task  of 
VOL.  i.— 8 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

pledging  them  to  his  master  of  fence,  Van  Braam,  who 
was  not  a  man  to  flinch  from  potations.  He  took  careful 
note,  however,  of  all  their  revelations,  and  collected  a 
variety  of  information  concerning  the  French  forces  ;  how 
and  where  they  were  distributed ;  the  situations  and  dis 
tances  of  their  forts,  and  their  means  and  mode  of  obtain, 
ing  supplies.  If  the  veteran  diplomatist  of  the  wilderness 
had  intended  this  revel  for  a  snare,  he  was  completely 
foiled  by  his  youthful  competitor. 

On  the  following  day  there  was  no  travelling  on  ac 
count  of  excessive  rain.  Joncaire,  in  the  meantime, 
having  discovered  that  the  half-king  was  with  the  mis 
sion,  expressed  his  surprise  that  he  had  not  accompanied 
it  to  his  quarters,  on  the  preceding  day.  Washington,  in 
truth,  had  feared  to  trust  the  sachem  within  the  reach 
of  the  politic  Frenchman.  Nothing  would  do  now  but 
Joncaire  must  have  the  sachems  at  head-quarters. 
Here  his  diplomacy  was  triumphant.  He  received  them 
with  open  arms.  He  was  enraptured  to  see  them.  His 
Indian  brothers!  How  could  they  be  so  near  without 
coming  to  visit  him  ?  He  made  them  presents ;  but, 
above  all,  plied  them  so  potently  with  liquor,  that  the 
poor  half-king,  Jeskakake,  and  White  Thunder  forgot  all 
about  their  wrongs,  their  speeches,  their  speech-belts, 
and  all  the  business  they  had  come  upon ;  paid  no  heed 
to  the  cautions  of  their  English  friends,  and  were  soon 
in  a  complete  state  of  frantic  extravagance  or  drunken 
oblivion. 


DEPARTURE.  115 

The  next  day  the  half-king  made  his  appearance  at 
Washington's  tent,  perfectly  sober  and  very  much  crest 
fallen.  He  declared,  however,  that  he  still  intended  to 
make  his  speech  to  the  French,  and  offered  to  rehearse  it 
on  the  spot ;  but  Washington  advised  him  not  to  waste 
his  ammunition  on  inferior  game  like  Joncaire  and  his 
comrades,  but  to  reserve  it  for  the  commandant.  The 
sachem  was  not  to  be  persuaded.  Here,  he  said,  was  the 
place  of  the  council-fire,  where  they  were  accustomed  to 
transact  their  business  with  the  French  ;  and  as  to  Jon 
caire,  he  had  all  the  management  of  French  affairs  with 
the  Indians. 

Washington  was  fain  to  attend  the  council-fire  and 
listen  to  the  speech.  It  was  much  the  same  in  purport 
as  that  which  he  had  made  to  the  French  general,  and 
he  ended  by  offering  to  return  the  French  speech-belt ; 
but  this  Joncaire  refused  to  receive,  telling  him  to  carry 
it  to  the  commander  at  the  fort. 

All  that  day  and  the  next  was  the  party  kept  at  Ve- 
nango  by  the  stratagems  of  Joncaire  and  his  emissaries  to 
detain  and  seduce  the  sachems.  It  was  not  until  12 
o'clock  on  the  7th  of  December,  that  Washington  was 
able  to  extricate  them  out  of  their  clutches  and  com 
mence  his  journey. 

A  French  commissary  by  the  name  of  La  Force,  and 
three  soldiers,  set  off  in  company  with  him.  La  Force 
went  as  if  on  ordinary  business,  but  he  proved  one  of  the 
most  active,  daring,  and  mischief-making  of  those  anom- 


116  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

alous  agents  employed  by  the  French  among  the  Indian 
tribes.  It  is  probable  that  he  was  at  the  bottom  of  many 
of  the  perplexities  experienced  by  "Washington  at  Ye- 
nango,  and  now  travelled  with  him  for  the  prosecution  of 
his  wiles.  He  will  be  found,  hereafter,  acting  a  more 
prominent  part,  and  ultimately  reaping  the  fruit  of  his 
evil  doings. 

After  four  days  of  weary  travel  through  snow  and  rain, 
and  mire  and  swamp,  the  party  reached  the  fort.  It  was 
situated  on  a  kind  of  island  on  the  west  fork  of  French 
Creek,  about  fifteen  miles  south  of  Lake  Erie,  and  con 
sisted  of  four  houses,  forming  a  hollow  square,  defended 
by  bastions  made  of  palisades  twelve  feet  high,  picketed, 
and  pierced  for  cannon  and  small  arms.  "Within  the  bas 
tions  were  a  guard-house,  chapel,  and  other  buildings, 
and  outside  were  stables,  a  smith's  forge,  and  log-houses 
covered  with  bark,  for  the  soldiers. 

On  the  death  of  the  late  general,  the  fort  had  remained 
in  charge  of  one  Captain  Reparti  until  within  a  week 
past,  when  the  Chevalier  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre  had 
arrived,  and  taken  command. 

The  reception  of  Washington  at  the  fort  was  very  dif- 
ferent  from  the  unceremonious  one  experienced  at  the 
outpost  of  Joncaire  and  his  convivial  messmates.  When 
he  presented  himself  at  the  gate,  accompanied  by  his  in* 
terpreter,  Yan  Braam,  he  was  met  by  the  ofiicer  second 
in  command  and  conducted  in  due  military  form  to  his 
superior,  an  ancient  and  silver-haired  chevalier  of  the 


TRANSACTIONS  AT  THE  FORT.  117 

military  order  of  St.  Louis,  courteous  but  ceremonious, 
mingling  the  polish  of  the  French  gentleman  of  the  old 
school  with  the  precision  of  the  soldier. 

Having  announced  his  errand  through  his  interpreter, 
Yan  B^aam,  Washington  offered  his  credentials  and  the 
letter  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  and  was  disposed  to  pro 
ceed  at  once  to  business  with  the  prompt  frankness  of  a 
young  man  unhackneyed  in  diplomacy.  The  chevalier, 
however,  politely  requested  him  to  retain  the  documents 
in  his  possession  until  his  predecessor,  Captain  Reparti, 
should  arrive,  who  was  hourly  expected  from  the  next 
post. 

At  two  o'clock  the  captain  arrived.  The  letter  and  its 
accompanying  documents  were  then  offered  again,  and 
received  in  due  form,  and  the  chevalier  and  his  officers 
retired  with  them  into  a  private  apartment,  where  the 
captain,  who  understood  a  little  English,  officiated  as  a 
translator.  The  translation  being  finished,  Washington 
was  requested  to  walk  in  and  bring  his  translator  Van 
Braam,  with  him,  to  peruse  and  correct  it,  which  he  did. 

In  this  letter,  Dinwiddie  complained  of  the  intrusion 
of  French  forces  into  the  Ohio  country,  erecting  forts  and 
making  settlements  in  the  western  parts  of  the  colony  of 
Virginia,  so  notoriously  known  to  be  the  property  of  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain.  He  inquired  by  whose  authority 
and  instructions  the  French  Commander-general  had 
marched  this  force  from  Canada,  and  made  this  invasion ; 
intimating  that  his  own  action  would  be  regulated  by  the 


LIFE  Off  WASHINGTON. 

answer  he  should  receive,  and  the  tenor  of  the  commis« 
sion  with  which  he  was  honored.  At  the  same  time  he 
required  of  the  commandant  his  peaceable  departure,  and 
that  he  would  forbear  to  prosecute  a  purpose  "  so  inter- 
ruptive  of  the  harmony  and  good  understanding  which 
His  Majesty  was  desirous  to  continue  and  cultivate  with 
the  most  catholic  king." 

The  latter  part  of  the  letter  related  to  the  youthful  en 
voy.  "  I  persuade  myself  you  will  receive  and  entertain 
Major  Washington  with  the  candor  and  politeness  natu 
ral  to  your  nation,  and  it  will  give  me  the  greatest  satis 
faction  if  you  can  return  him  with  an  answer  suitable  to 
my  wishes  for  a  long  and  lasting  peace  between  us." 

The  two  following  days  were  consumed  in  councils  of 
the  chevalier  and  his  officers  over  the  letter  and  the  nec 
essary  reply.  Washington  occupied  himself  in  the  mean 
time  in  observing  and  taking  notes  of  the  plan,  dimen 
sions,  and  strength  of  the  fort,  and  of  everything  about  it. 
He  gave  orders  to  his  people,  also,  to  take  an  exact  ac 
count  of  the  canoes  in  readiness,  and  others  in  the  proc 
ess  of  construction,  for  the  conveyance  of  troops  down 
the  river  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

As  the  weather  continued  stormy,  with  much  snow, 
and  the  horses  were  daily  losing  strength,  he  sent  them 
down,  unladen  to  Venango,  to  await  his  return  by  water. 
In  the  meantime,  he  discovered  that  busy  intrigues 
were  going  on  to  induce  the  half-king  and  the  other  sa 
chems  to  abandon  him,  and  renounce  all  friendship  with 


THE  SPEECH-BELT.  119 

the  English,  Upon  learning  this,  he  urged  the  chiefs  to 
deliver  up  their  "speech-belts"  immediately,  as  they 
had  promised,  thereby  shaking  off  all  dependence  upon 
the  French.  They  accordingly  pressed  for  an  audience 
that  very  evening.  A  private  one  was  at  length  granted 
them  by  the  commander,  in  presence  of  one  or  two  of  his 
officers.  The  half-king  reported  the  result  of  it  to  Wash 
ington.  The  venerable  but  astute  chevalier  cautiously 
evaded  the  acceptance  of  the  proffered  wampum ;  made 
many  professions  of  love  and  friendship,  and  said  he 
wished  to  live  in  peace  and  trade  amicably  with  the 
tribes  of  the  Ohio,  in  proof  of  which  he  would  send  down 
some  goods  immediately  for  them  to  Logstown. 

As  Washington  understood,  privately,  that  an  officer 
was  to  accompany  the  man  employed  to  convey  these 
goods,  he  suspected  that  the  real  design  was  to  arrest 
and  bring  off  all  straggling  English  traders  they  might 
meet  with.  What  strengthened  this  opinion  was  a  frank 
avowal  which  had  been  made  to  him  by  the  chevalier, 
that  he  had  orders  to  capture  every  British  subject 
who  should  attempt  to  trade  upon  the  Ohio  or  its 
waters. 

Captain  Keparti,  also,  in  reply  to  his  inquiry  as  to 
what  had  been  done  with  two  Pennsylvania  traders, 
who  had  been  taken  with  all  their  goods,  informed  him 
that  they  had  been  sent  to  Canada,  but  had  since  re 
turned  home.  He  had  stated,  furthermore,  that  during 
the  time  he  held  command,  a  white  boy  had  been  carried 


120  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

captive  past  the  fort  by  a  party  of  Indians,  who  had  with 
them,  also,  two  or  three  white  men's  scalps. 

All  these  circumstances  showed  him  the  mischief  that 
was  brewing  in  these  parts,  and  the  treachery  and  vio 
lence  that  pervaded  the  frontier,  and  made  him  the  more 
solicitous  to  accomplish  his  mission  successfully,  and 
conduct  his  little  band  in  safety  out  of  a  wily  neighbor 
hood. 

On  the  evening  of  the  14th,  the  Chevalier  de  St.  Pierre 
delivered  to  "Washington  his  sealed  reply  to  the  letter  of 
Governor  Dinwiddie.  The  purport  of  previous  conver 
sations  with  the  chevalier,  and  the  whole  complexion  of 
affairs  on  the  frontier,  left  no  doubt  of  the  nature  of  that 
reply. 

The  business  of  his  mission  being  accomplished,  Wash 
ington  prepared  on  the  15th  to  return  by  water  to  Ve- 
nango;  but  a  secret  influence  was  at  work  which  re 
tarded  every  movement. 

"  The  commandant,  "  writes  he,  "  ordered  a  plentiful 
store  of  liquor  and  provisions  to  be  put  on  board  our  ca 
noes,  and  appeared  to  be  extremely  complaisant,  though 
he  was  exerting  every  artifice  which  he  could  invent  to 
set  our  Indians  at  variance  with  us,  to  prevent  their 
going  until  after  our  departure — presents,  rewards,  and 
everything  which  could  be  suggested  by  him  or  his  of 
ficers.  I  cannot  say  that  ever  in  my  life  I  suffered  so 
much  anxiety  as  I  did  in  this  affair.  I  saw  that  every 
stratagem  which  the  most  fruitful  brain  could  invent  was 


ATTEMPTS  TO  SEDUCE  THE  SACHEMS.  121 

practiced  to  win  the  half-king  to  their  interest,  and  that 
leaving  him  there  was  giving  them  the  opportunity  they 
aimed  at.  I  went  to  the  half-king,  and  pressed  him  in 
the  strongest  terms  to  go;  he  told  me  that  the  com 
mandant  would  not  discharge  him  until  the  morning.  I 
then  went  to  the  commandant  and  desired  him  to  do 
their  business,  and  complained  to  him  of  ill  treatment ; 
for,  keeping  them,  as  they  were  a  part  of  my  company, 
was  detaining  me.  This  he  promised  not  to  do,  but  to 
forward  my  journey  as  much  as  he  could.  He  protested 
he  did  not  keep  them,  but  was  ignorant  of  the  cause  of 
their  stay ;  though  I  soon  found  it  out.  He  had  promised 
them  a  present  of  guns  if  they  would  wait  until  the 
morning.  As  I  was  very  much  pressed  by  the  Indians  to 
wait  this  day  for  them,  I  consented,  on  the  promise  that 
nothing  should  hinder  them  in  the  morning." 

The  next  morning  (16th)  the  French,  in  fulfillment  of 
their  promise,  had  to  give  the  present  of  guns.  They 
then  endeavored  to  detain  the  sachems  with  liquor, 
which  at  any  other  time  might  have  prevailed,  but  Wash 
ington  reminded  the  half-king  that  his  royal  word  was 
pledged  to  depart,  and  urged  it  upon  him  so  closely  that 
exerting  unwonted  resolution  and  self-denial,  he  turned 
his  back  upon  the  liquor  and  embarked. 

It  was  rough  and  laborious  navigation.  French  Creek 
was  swollen  and  turbulent,  and  full  of  floating  ice.  The 
frail  canoes  were  several  times  in  danger  of  being  staved 
to  pieces  against  the  rocks.  Often  the  voyagers  had  to 


122  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

leap  out  and  remain  in  the  water  hall  an  hour  at  a  time, 
drawing  the  canoes  over  shoals,  and  at  one  place  to  carry 
them  a  quarter  of  a  mile  across  a  neck  of  land,  the  river 
being  completely  dammed  by  ice.  It  was  not  until  the 
22d  that  they  reached  Yenango. 

Here  Washington  was  obliged,  most  unwillingly,  to 
part  company  with  the  sachems.  White  Thunder  had 
hurt  himself  and  was  ill  and  unable  to  walk,  and  the 
others  determined  to  remain  at  Yenango  for  a  day  or  two 
and  convey  him  down  the  river  in  a  canoe.  There  was 
danger  that  the  smooth-tongued  and  convivial  Joncaire 
would  avail  himself  of  the  interval  to  ply  the  poor  mon- 
archs  of  the  woods  with  flattery  and  liquor.  Washington 
endeavored  to  put  the  worthy  half-king  on  his  guard, 
knowing  that  he  had  once  before  shown  himself  but  little 
proof  against  the  seductions  of  the  bottle.  The  sachem, 
however,  desired  him  not  to  be  concerned ;  he  knew  the 
French  too  well  for  anything  to  engage  him  in  their 
favor ;  nothing  should  shake  his  faith  to  his  English 
brothers ;  and  it  will  be  found  that  in  these  assurances 
he  was  sincere. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 


ISTTTKN  FROM  VENANGO. — A  TRAMP  ON  FOOT. — MURDERING  TOVTN.— THE  IW- 
DIAN  GUIDE. — TREACHERY. — AN  ANXIOUS  NIGHT. — PERILS  ON  THE  ALLE- 
GHANT  RIVER.  —  QUEEN  ALIQUIPPA. — THE  OLD  WATCH-COAT. — RETURN 
ACROSS  THE  BLUE  RIDGE. 


N  the  25th  of  December,  Washington  and  his 
little  party  set  out  by  land  from  Yenango  on 
their  route  homeward.  They  had  a  long  win 
ter's  journey  before  them,  through  a  wilderness  beset 
with  dangers  and  difficulties.  The  pack-horses,  laden 
with  tents,  baggage,  and  provisions,  were  completely 
jaded ;  it  was  feared  they  would  give  out.  Washington 
dismounted,  gave  up  his  saddle-horse  to  aid  in  transport 
ing  the  baggage,  and  requested  his  companions  to  do  the 
same.  None  but  the  drivers  remained  in  the  saddle.  He 
now  equipped  himself  in  an  Indian  hunting-dress,  and 
with  Van  Braam,  Gist,  and  John  Davidson,  the  Indian 
interpreter,  proceeded  on  foot. 

The  cold  increased.  There  was  deep  snow  that  froze 
as  it  fell.  The  horses  grew  less  and  less  capable  of  trav 
elling.  For  three  days  they  toiled  on  slowly  and  wearily. 
Washington  was  impatient  to  accomplish  his  journey, 

122 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

make  his  report  to  the  governor ;  he  determined,  there 
fore,  to  hasten  some  distance  in  advance  of  the  party,  and 
then  strike  for  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio  by  the  nearest  course 
directly  through  the  woods.  He  accordingly  put  the  cav 
alcade  under  the  command  of  Van  Braam,  and  furnished 
him  with  money  for  expenses ;  then  disencumbering  him 
self  of  all  superfluous  clothing,  buckling  himself  up  in  a 
watch-coat,  strapping  his  pack  on  his  shoulders,  contain 
ing  his  papers  and  provisions,  and  taking  gun  in  hand,  he 
left  the  horses  to  flounder  on,  and  struck  manfully  ahead, 
accompanied  only  by  Mr.  Gist,  who  had  equipped  himself 
in  like  manner. 

At  night  they  lit  a  fire,  and  "  camped "  by  it  in  the 
woods.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  were  again 
on  foot,  and  pressed  forward  until  they  struck  the  south 
east  fork  of  Beaver  Creek,  at  a  place  bearing  the  sinister 
name  of  Murdering  Town — probably  the  scene  of  some 
Indian  massacre. 

Here  "Washington,  in  planning  his  route,  had  intended 
to  leave  the  regular  path,  and  strike  through  the  woods 
for  Shannopins  Town,  two  or  three  miles  above  the  Fork 
of  the  Ohio,  where  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  cross  the  Alle- 
ghany  River  on  the  ice. 

At  Murdering  Town  he  found  a  party  of  Indians,  who 
appeared  to  have  known  of  his  coming,  and  to  have  been 
waiting  for  him.  One  of  them  accosted  Mr.  Gist,  and 
expressed  great  joy  at  seeing  him.  The  wary  woodsman 
regarded  him  narrowly,  and  thought  he  had  seen  him 


THE  INDIAN  GUIDE.  125 

at  Joncaire's.  If  so,  he  and  his  comrades  were  in  the 
French  interest,  and  their  lying  in  wait  boded  no  good. 
The  Indian  was  very  curious  in  his  inquiries  as  to  when 
they  had  left  Venango ;  how  they  came  to  be  travelling 
on  foot ;  where  they  had  left  their  horses,  and  when  it 
was  probable  the  latter  would  reach  this  place.  All 
these  questions  increased  the  distrust  of  Gist,  and  ren 
dered  him  extremely  cautious  in  reply. 

The  route  hence  to  Shannopins  Town  lay  through  a 
trackless  wild,  of  which  the  travellers  knew  nothing; 
after  some  consultation,  therefore,  it  was  deemed  expe 
dient  to  engage  one  of  the  Indians  as  a  guide.  He  en 
tered  upon  his  duties  with  alacrity,  took  Washington's 
pack  upon  his  back,  and  led  the  way  by  what  he  said 
was  the  most  direct  course.  After  travelling  briskly  for 
eight  or  ten  miles  Washington  became  fatigued,  and  his 
feet  were  chafed ;  he  thought,  too,  they  were  taking  a 
direction  too  much  to  the  northeast ;  he  came  to  a  halt, 
therefore,  and  determined  to  light  a  fire,  make  a  shelter 
of  the  bark  and  branches  of  trees,  and  encamp  there  for 
the  night.  The  Indian  demurred  ;  he  offered,  as  Wash 
ington  was  fatigued,  to  carry  his  gun,  but  the  latter  was 
too  wary  to  part  with  his  weapon.  The  Indian  now  grew 
churlish.  There  were  Ottawa  Indians  in  the  woods,  he 
said,  who  might  be  attracted  by  their  fire,  and  surprise 
and  scalp  them ;  he  urged,  therefore,  that  they  should 
continue  on :  he  would  take  them  to  his  cabin,  where 
they  would  be  safe. 


126  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Mr.  Gist's  suspicions  increased,  but  he  said  nothing, 
Washington's  also  were  awakened.  They  proceeded 
some  distance  further :  the  guide  paused  and  listened. 
He  had  heard,  he  said,  the  report  of  a  gun  toward  the 
north ;  it  must  be  from  his  cabin ;  he  accordingly  turned 
his  steps  in  that  direction. 

Washington  began  to  apprehend  an  ambuscade  of  sav 
ages.  He  knew  the  hostility  of  many  of  them  to  the 
English,  and  what  a  desirable  trophy  was  the  scalp  of  a 
white  man.  The  Indian  still  kept  on  toward  the  north  ; 
he  pretended  to  hear  two  whoops — they  were  from  his 
cabin — it  could  not  be  far  off. 

They  went  on  two  miles  further,  when  Washington 
signified  his  determination  to  encamp  at  the  first  water 
they  should  find.  The  guide  said  nothing,  but  kept 
doggedly  on.  After  a  little  while  they  arrived  at  an 
opening  in  the  woods,  and  emerging  from  the  deep 
shadows  in  which  they  had  been  travelling,  found  them 
selves  in  a  clear  meadow,  rendered  still  more  light  by 
the  glare  of  the  snow  upon  the  ground.  Scarcely  had 
they  emerged  when  the  Indian,  who  was  about  fifteen 
paces  ahead,  suddenly  turned,  leveled  his  gun,  and  fired. 
Washington  was  startled  for  an  instant,  but,  feeling  that 
he  was  not  wounded,  demanded  quickly  of  Mr.  Gist  if  he 
was  shot.  The  latter  answered  in  the  negative.  The  In 
dian  in  the  meantime  had  run  forward,  and  screened  him 
self  behind  a  large  white  oak,  where  he  was  reloading 
his  gun.  They  overtook  and  seized  him.  Gist  would 


TREACHERY.  127 

have  put  him  to  death  on  the  spot,  but  Washington  hu 
manely  prevented  him.  They  permitted  him  to  finish 
the  loading  of  his  gun;  but, -after  he  had  put  in  the  ball, 
took  the  weapon  from  him,  and  let  him  see  that  he  was 
under  guard. 

Arriving  at  a  small  stream  they  ordered  the  Indian  to 
make  a  fire,  and  took  turns  to  watch  over  the  guns. 
While  he  was  thus  occupied,  Gist,  a  veteran  woodsman, 
and  accustomed  to  hold  the  life  of  an  Indian  rather 
cheap,  was  somewhat  incommoded  by  the  scruples  of  his 
youthful  commander,  which  might  enable  the  savage  to 
^arry  out  some  scheme  of  treachery.  He  observed  to 
Washington  that,  since  he  would  not  suffer  the  Indian  to 
be  killed,  they  must  manage  to  get  him  out  of  the  way, 
anj  then  decamp  with  all  speed,  and  travel  all  night  to 
lea  e  this  perfidious  neighborhood  behind  them  ;  but 
firsC  it  was  necessary  to  blind  the  guide  as  to  their  in 
tent  ons.  He  accordingly  addressed  him  in  a  friendly 
tone,  and  adverting  to  the  late  circumstance,  pretended 
to  snppose  that  he  had  lost  his  way,  and  fired  his  gun 
merely  as  a  signal.  The  Indian,  whether  deceived  or 
not,  readily  chimed  in  with  the  explanation.  He  said  he 
now  knew  the  way  to  his  cabin,  which  was  at  no  great 
distance.  "  Well,  then,"  replied  Gist,  "  you  can  go  home, 
and  as  we  are  tired  we  will  remain  here  for  the  night,  and 
follow  your  track  at  daylight.  In  the  meantime  here  is 
a  cake  of  bread  for  you,  and  you  must  give  us  some  meat 
in  the  morning." 


128  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  original  designs  of  the 
savage,  he  was  evidently  glad  to  get  off.  Gist  followed 
him  cautiously  for  a  distance,  and  listened  until  the 
sound  of  his  footsteps  died  away ;  returning  then  to 
Washington,  they  proceeded  about  half  a  mile,  made 
another  fire,  set  their  compass  and  fixed  their  course  by 
the  light  of  it,  then  leaving  it  burning,  pushed  forward, 
and  travelled  as  fast  as  possible  all  night,  so  as  to  gain 
a  fair  start  should  any  one  pursue  them  at  daylight. 
Continuing  on  the  next  day,  they  never  relaxed  their 
speed  until  nightfall,  when  they  arrived  on  the  banks  of 
the  Alleghany  River,  about  two  miles  above  Shannopins 
Town. 

Washington  had  expected  to  find  the  river  frozen 
completely  over;  it  was  so  only  for  about  fifty  yards 
from  each  shore,  while  great  quantities  of  broken  ic3 
were  driving  down  the  main  channel.  Trusting  that  he 
had  out-travelled  pursuit,  he  encamped  on  the  border  of 
the  river ;  still  it  was  an  anxioiis  night,  and  he  was  up 
at  daybreak  to  devise  some  means  of  reaching  the  oppo 
site  bank.  No  other  mode  presented  itself  than  by  a 
raft,  and  to  construct  this  they  had  but  one  poor  hatchet. 
With  this  they  set  resolutely  to  work  and  labored  all 
day,  but  the  sun  went  down  before  their  raft  was  fin 
ished.  They  launched  it,  however,  and  getting  on  board, 
endeavored  to  propel  it  across  with  setting  poles.  Be 
fore  they  were  half  way  over  the  raft  became  jammed 
between  cakes  of  ice,  and  they  were  in  imminent  peril 


PERILS  ON  THE  ALLEOHANY  RIVER.  129 

Washington  planted  his  pole  on  the  bottom  of  the 
stream,  and  leaned  against  it  with  all  his  might,  to  sta^ 
the  raft  until  the  ice  should  pass  by.  The  rapid  current 
forced  the  ice  against  the  pole  with  such  violence  that  he 
was  jerked  into  the  water,  where  it  was  at  least  ten  feet 
deep,  and  only  saved  himself  from  being  swept  away 
and  drowned  by  catching  hold  of  one  of  the  raft  logs. 

It  was  now  impossible,  with  all  their  exertions,  to  get 
to  either  shore  ;  abandoning  the  raft,  therefore,  they  got 
upon  an  island,  near  which  they  were  drifting.  Here 
they  passed  the  night  exposed  to  intense  cold,  by  which 
the  hands  and  feet  of  Mr.  Gist  were  frozen.  In  the 
morning  they  found  the  drift  ice  wedged  so  closely  to 
gether,  that  they  succeeded  in  getting  from  the  island 
to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river ;  and  before  night  were 
in  comfortable  quarters  at  the  house  of  Frazier,  the  In 
dian  trader,  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek  on  the  Monon- 
gahela. 

Here  they  learned  from  a  war  party  of  Indians  that  a 
band  of  Ottawas,  a  tribe  in  the  interest  of  the  French, 
had  massacred  a  whole  family  of  whites  on  the  banks  of 
the  Great  Kanawha  Eiver. 

At  Frazier's  they  were  detained  two  or  three  days, 
endeavoring  to  procure  horses.  In  this  interval  Wash 
ington  had  again  occasion  to  exercise  Indian  diplomacy. 
About  three  miles  distant,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tough- 
iogheny  Kiver,  dwelt  a  female  sachem,  Queen  Aliquippa, 

as  the  English  called  her,  whose  sovereign  dignity  had 
VOL.  i.— 9 


X3Q  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

been  aggrieved,  that  the  party,  on  their  way  to  the  Ohio, 
had  passed  near  her  royal  wigwam  without  paying  their 
respects  to  her. 

Aware  of  the  importance,  at  this  critical  juncture,  of 
securing  the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  Washington 
availed  himself  of  the  interruption  of  his  journey,  to  pay 
a  visit  of  ceremony  to  this  native  princess.  Whatever 
anger  she  may  have  felt  at  past  neglect,  it  was  readily 
appeased  by  a  present  of  his  old  watch-coat;  and  her 
good  graces  were  completely  secured  by  a  bottle  of  rum, 
which,  he  intimates,  appeared  to  be  peculiarly  acceptable 
to  her  majesty. 

Leaving  Frazier's  on  the  1st  of  January,  they  arrived 
on  the  2d  at  Gist's  residence,  sixteen  miles  from  the 
Monongahela.  Here  they  separated,  and  Washington, 
having  purchased  a  horse,  continued  his  homeward 
course,  passing  horses  laden  with  materials  and  stores 
for  the  fort  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio,  and  families  going 
out  to  settle  there. 

Having  crossed  the  Blue  Bidge  and  stopped  one  day 
at  Belvoir  to  rest,  he  reached  Williamsburg  on  the  16th 
of  January,  where  he  delivered  to  Governor  Dinwiddie 
the  letter  of  the  French  commandant,  and  made  him  a 
full  report  of  the  events  of  his  mission. 

We  have  been  minute  in  our  account  of  this  expedition, 
as  it  was  an  early  test  and  development  of  the  various 
talents  and  characteristics  of  Washington. 

The  prudence,  sagacity,  resolution,  firmness,  and  self- 


QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  HIGH  TRUSTS. 

devotion  manifested  by  him  throughout ;  his  admirable 
tact  and  self-possession  in  treating  with  fickle  savages 
and  crafty  white  men ;  the  soldier's  eye  with  which  he 
had  noticed  the  commanding  and  defensible  points  of 
the  country,  and  everything  that  would  bear  upon  mili 
tary  operations ;  and  the  hardihood  with  which  he  had 
acquitted  himself  during  a  wintry  tramp  through  the 
wilderness,  through  constant  storms  of  rain  and  snow, 
often  sleeping  on  the  ground,  without  a  tent,  in  the  open 
air,  and  in  danger  from  treacherous  foes, — all  pointed 
him  out,  not  merely  to  the  governor,  but  to  the  public  at 
large,  as  one  eminently  fitted,  notwithstanding  his  youth, 
for  important  trusts,  involving  civil  as  well  as  military 
duties.  It  is  an  expedition  that  may  be  considered  the 
foundation  of  his  fortunes.  From  that  moment  he  was 
the  rising  hope  of  Virginia. 


CHAPTER  X. 


OF  THE  CHEVALIER  DE  ST.  PIERRE.  —  TRENT'S  MISSION  TO  THE  FRON 
TIER.  —  WASHINGTON  RECRUITS  TROOPS.  —  DINWIDDIE  AND  THE  HOUSE  Ol 
BURGESSES.  —  INDEPENDENT  CONDUCT  OF  THE  VIRGINIANS.  —  EXPEDIENTS 
TO  GAIN  RECRU<TS.  —  JACOB  VAN  BRAAM  IN  SERVICE.  —  TOILFUL  MARCH  TO 
WILLS'  CREEK.-  CONTREC(EUR  AT  THE  FORK  OF  THE  OHIO.  —  TRENT'S  RE 
FRACTORY  TROv/PS. 

HE  reply  of  the  Chevalier  de  St.  Pierre  was  such 
as  might  have  been  expected  from  that  cour 
teous  but  wary  commander.  He  should  trans 
mit,  he  said,  the  letter  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  his  gen 
eral,  the  Marquis  Duquesne,  "  to  whom,"  observed  he,  "  it 
better  belongs  than  to  me  to  set  forth  the  evidence  and 
reality  of  the  rights  of  the  king,  my  master,  upon  the  lands 
situated  along  the  river  Ohio,  and  to  contest  the  preten 
sions  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain  thereto.  His  answer 
shall  be  a  law  to  me.  .  .  .  As  to  the  summons  you  send 
me  to  retire,  I  do  not  think  myself  obliged  to  obey  it 
Whatever  may  be  your  instructions,  I  am  here  by  virtue 
of  the  orders  of  my  general  ;  and  I  entreat  you,  sir,  not  to 
doubt  one  moment  but  that  I  am  determined  to  con 
form  myself  to  them  with  all  the  exactness  and  resolu 
tion  which  can  be  expected  from  the  best  officer."  .  .  , 

J33 


TRENT'S  MISSION  TO   THE  FRONTIER.  133 

"  I  made  it  mj  particular  care,"  adds  he,  "  to  receive 
Mr.  Washington  with  a  distinction  suitable  to  your  dig 
nity,  as  well  as  his  own  quality  and  great  merit.  I  flatter 
myself  that  he  will  do  me  this  justice  before  you,  sir,  and 
that  he  will  signify  to  you,  in  the  manner  I  do  myself, 
the  profound  respect  with  which  I  am,  sir,"  etc.* 

This  soldier-like  and  punctilious  letter  of  the  chevalier 
was  considered  evasive,  and  only  intended  to  gain  time. 
The  information  given  by  Washington  of  what  he  had 
observed  on  the  frontier  convinced  Governor  Dinwiddie 
and  his  council  that  the  French  were  preparing  to  de 
scend  the  Ohio  in  the  spring,  and  take  military  posses^ 
sion  of  the  country.  Washington's  journal  was  printed 
and  widely  promulgated  throughout  the  colonies  and 
England,  and  awakened  the  nation  to  a  sense  of  the  im 
pending  danger,  and  the  necessity  of  prompt  measures  to 
anticipate  the  French  movements. 

Captain  Trent  was  despatched  to  the  frontier,  commis 
sioned  to  raise  a  company  of  one  hundred  men,  march 
with  all  speed  to  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio,  and  finish  as  soon 
as  possible  the  fort  commenced  there  by  the  Ohio  Com 
pany.  He  was  enjoined  to  act  only  on  the  defensive,  but 
to  capture  or  destroy  whoever  should  oppose  the  con 
struction  of  the  works,  or  disturb  the  settlements.  The 
choice  of  Captain  Trent  for  this  service,  notwithstanding 
his  late  inefficient  expedition,  was  probably  owing  to  his 

*  London  Mag.,  June,  1754. 


134  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

being  brother-in-law  to  George  Croghan,  who  had  grown 
to  be  quite  a  personage  of  consequence  on  the  frontier, 
where  he  had  an  establishment  or  trading-house,  and  was 
supposed  to  have  great  influence  among  the  western 
tribes,  so  as  to  be  able  at  any  time  to  persuade  many  of 
them  to  take  up  the  hatchet. 

Washington  was  empowered  to  raise  a  company  of  like 
force  at  Alexandria ;  to  procure  and  forward  munitions 
and  supplies  for  the  projected  fort  at  the  Fork,  and  ulti 
mately  to  have  command  of  both  companies.  When  on 
the  frontier  he  was  to  take  counsel  of  George  Croghan 
and  Andrew  Montour  the  interpreter,  in  all  matters  re 
lating  to  the  Indians,  they  being  esteemed  perfect  oracles 
in  that  department. 

Governor  Dinwiddie  in  the  meantime  called  upon  the 
governors  of  the  other  provinces  to  make  common  cause 
against  the  foe ;  he  endeavored,  also,  to  effect  alliances 
with  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  south,  the  Catawbas  and 
Cherokees,  by  way  of  counterbalancing  the  Chippewaa 
and  Ottawas,  who  were  devoted  to  the  French. 

The  colonies,  however,  felt  as  yet  too  much  like  iso 
lated  territories  ;  the  spirit  of  union  was  wanting.  Some 
pleaded  a  want  of  military  funds ;  some  questioned  the 
justice  of  the  cause ;  some  declined  taking  any  hostile 
step  that  might  involve  them  in  a  war,  unless  they  should 
have  direct  orders  from  the  crown. 

Dinwiddie  convened  the  House  of  Burgesses  to  devise 
measures  for  the  public  security.  Here  his  high  idea  of 


DINWIDDIE  AND   THE  HOUSE  OF  BURGESSES.  135 

prerogative  and  of  gubernatorial  dignity  met  with  a 
grievous  countercheck  from  the  dawning  spirit  of  inde 
pendence.  High  as  were  the  powers  vested  in  the  colo 
nial  government  of  Yirginia,  of  which,  though  but  lieu 
tenant-governor,  he  had  the  actual  control;  they  were 
counterbalanced  by  the  power  inherent  in  the  people, 
growing  out  of  their  situation  and  circumstances,  and 
acting  through  their  representatives. 

There  was  no  turbulent  factious  opposition  to  govern 
ment  in  Yirginia;  no  "fierce  democracy,"  the  rank 
growth  of  crowded  cities,  and  a  fermenting  populace ; 
but  there  was  the  independence  of  men,  living  apart  in 
patriarchal  style  on  their  own  rural  domains  ;  surrounded 
by  their  families,  dependants,  and  slaves,  among  whom 
their  will  was  law, — and  there  was  the  individuality  in 
character  and  action  of  men  prone  to  nurture  peculiar 
notions  and  habits  of  thinking,  in  the  thoughtful  solitari 
ness  of  country  life. 

When  Dinwiddie  propounded  his  scheme  of  operations 
on  the  Ohio,  some  of  the  burgesses  had  the  hardihood  to 
doubt  the  claims  of  the  king  to  the  disputed  territory ; 
a  doubt  which  the  governor  reprobated  as  savoring 
strongly  of  a  most  disloyal  French  spirit ;  he  fired,  as  he 
says,  at  the  thought  "  that  an  English  legislature  should 
presume  to  doubt  the  right  of  His  Majesty  to  the  in 
terior  parts  of  this  continent,  the  back  part  of  his  do 
minions  ! " 

Others  demurred  to  any  grant  of  means  for  military 


136  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

purposes  which  might  be  construed  into  an  act  of  hos* 
tility.  To  meet  this  scruple  it  was  suggested  that  the 
grant  might  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  and 
protecting  all  settlers  on  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi. 
And  under  this  specious  plea  ten  thousand  pounds  were 
grudgingly  voted ;  but  even  this  moderate  sum  was  not 
put  at  the  absolute  disposition  of  the  governor.  A  com 
mittee  was  appointed  with  whom  he  was  to  confer  as  to 
its  appropriation. 

This  precaution  Dinwiddie  considered  an  insulting  in 
vasion  of  the  right  he  possessed  as  governor  to  control 
the  purse  as  well  as  the  sword ;  and  he  complained  bit 
terly  of  the  Assembly,  as  deeply  tinctured  with  a  repub 
lican  way  of  thinking,  and  disposed  to  encroach  on  the 
prerogative  of  the  crown,  "  which  he  feared  would  render 
them  more  and  more  difficult  to  be  brought  to  order." 

Ways  and  means  being  provided,  Governor  Dinwiddie 
augmented  the  number  of  troops  to  be  enlisted  to  three 
hundred,  divided  into  six  companies.  The  command  of 
the  whole,  as  before,  was  offered  to  Washington,  but  he 
shrank  from  it,  as  a  charge  too  great  for  his  youth  and 
inexperience.  It  was  given,  therefore,  to  Colonel  Joshua 
Fry,  an  English  gentleman  of  worth  and  education,  and 
Washington  was  made  second  in  command,  with  the  rank 
of  lieutenant-colonel. 

The  recruiting,  at  first,  went  on  slowly.  Those  who 
offered  to  enlist,  says  Washington,  were  for  the  most  part 
loose,  idle  persons  without  house  or  home,  some  without 


PROGRESS  OF  RECRUITING  137 

shoes  or  stockings,  some  shirtless,  and  many  without  coat 
or  waistcoat. 

He  was  young  in  the  recruiting  service,  or  he  would 
have  known  that  such  is  generally  the  stuff  of  which 
armies  are  made.  In  this  country,  especially,  it  has  al 
ways  been  difficult  to  enlist  the  active  yeomanry  by  hold 
ing  out  merely  the  pay  of  a  soldier.  The  means  of  sub 
sistence  are  too  easily  obtained  by  the  industrious,  for 
them  to  give  up  home  and  personal  independence  for  a 
mere  daily  support.  Some  may  be  tempted  by  a  love  of 
adventure ;  but  in  general,  they  require  some  prospect  of 
ultimate  advantage  that  may  "  better  their  condition." 

Governor  Dinwiddie  became  sensible  of  this,  and  re 
sorted  to  an  expedient  rising  out  of  the  natural  resources 
of  the  country,  which  has  since  been  frequently  adopted, 
and  always  with  efficacy.  He  proclaimed  a  bounty  of  two 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  on  the  Ohio  River,  to  be 
divided  among  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  should  en 
gage  in  this  expedition  ;  one  thousand  to  be  laid  off  con 
tiguous  to  the  fort  on  the  Fork,  for  the  use  of  the  gar 
rison.  This  was  a  tempting  bait  to  the  sons  of  farmers, 
who  readily  enlisted  in  the  hope  of  having,  at  the  end  of 
a  short  campaign,  a  snug  farm  of  their  own  in  this  land 
of  promise. 

It  was  a  more  difficult  matter  to  get  officers  than  sol 
diers,  Very  few  of  those  appointed  made  their  appear 
ance  ;  one  of  the  captains  had  been  promoted ;  two  de 
clined  ;  Washington  found  himself  left,  almost  alone,  to 


138  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

manage  a  number  of  self-willed,  undisciplined  recruita 
Happily  he  had  with  him,  in  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  that 
soldier  of  fortune,  Jacob  Van  Braam,  his  old  "  master  of 
fence,"  and  travelling  interpreter. 

In  his  emergency  he  forthwith  nominated  him  captain, 
and  wrote  to  the  governor  to  confirm  the  appointment, 
representing  him  as  the  oldest  lieutenant  and  an  experi 
enced  officer. 

On  the  2d  of  April  Washington  set  off  from  Alexandria 
for  the  new  fort,  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio.  He  had  but 
two  companies  with  him,  amounting  to  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men:  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  was  to 
follow  under  Colonel  Fry  with  the  artillery,  which  was  to 
be  conveyed  up  the  Potomac.  While  on  the  march  he 
was  joined  by  a  detachment  under  Captain  Adam  Stephen, 
an  officer  destined  to  serve  with  him  at  distant  periods  of 
his  military  career. 

At  Winchester  he  found  it  impossible  to  obtain  con 
veyances  by  gentle  means,  and  was  obliged  reluctantly  to 
avail  himself  of  the  militia  law  of  Yirginia,  and  impress 
horses  and  wagons  for  service  ;  giving  the  owners  orders 
on  government  for  their  appraised  value.  Even  then,  out 
of  a  great  number  impressed,  he  obtained  but  ten,  after 
waiting  a  week  ;  these,  too,  were  grudgingly  furnished  by 
farmers  with  their  worst  horses,  so  that  in  steep  and 
difficult  passes  they  were  incompetent  to  the  draught, 
and  the  soldiers  had  continually  to  put  their  shoulders 
to  the  wheels. 


TOILFUL  MARCH  TO    WILLS'  CREEK.  139 

Thus  slenderly  fitted  out,  Washington  and  his  little 
force  made  their  way  toilfully  across  the  mountains,  hav 
ing  to  prepare  the  roads  as  they  went  for  the  transporta 
tion  of  the  cannon,  which  were  to  follow  on  with  the 
other  division  under  Colonel  Fry.  They  cheered  them 
selves  with  the  thoughts  that  this  hard  work  would  cease 
when  they  should  arrive  at  the  company's  trading-post 
and  storehouse  at  Wills'  Creek,  where  Captain  Trent  was 
to  have  pack-horses  in  readiness,  with  which  they  might 
make  the  rest  of  the  way  by  light  stages.  Before  arriving 
there  they  were  startled  by  a  rumor  that  Trent  and  all  his 
men  had  been  captured  by  the  French.  With  regard  to 
Trent,  the  news  soon  proved  to  be  false,  for  they  found 
him  at  Wills'  Creek  on  the  20th  of  April.  With  regard 
to  his  men  there  was  still  an  uncertainty.  He  had 
recently  left  them  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio,  busily  at 
work  on  the  fort,  under  the  command  of  his  lieutenant, 
Frazier,  late  Indian  trader  and  gunsmith,  but  now  a  pro 
vincial  officer.  If  the  men  had  been  captured,  it  must 
have  been  since  the  captain's  departure.  Washington 
was  eager  to  press  forward  and  ascertain  the  truth,  but  it 
was  impossible.  Trent,  inefficient  as  usual,  had  failed  to 
provide  pack-horses.  It  was  necessary  to  send  to  Win 
chester,  sixty  miles  distant,  for  baggage  wagons,  and  await 
their  arrival.  All  uncertainty  as  to  the  fate  of  the  men, 
however,  was  brought  to  a  close  by  their  arrival,  on  the 
25th,  conducted  by  an  ensign,  and  bringing  with  them 
their  working  implements.  The  French  might  well  boast 


140  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

that  they  had  again  been  too  quick  for  the  English.  Cap 
tain  Contreco3ur,  an  alert  officer,  had  embarked  about  a 
thousand  men  with  field-pieces,  in  a  fleet  of  sixty  batteaux 
and  three  hundred  canoes,  dropped  down  the  river  from 
Yenango,  and  suddenly  made  his  appearance  before  the 
fort,  on  which  the  men  were  working,  and  which  was  not 
half  completedo  Landing,  drawing  up  his  men,  and 
planting  his  artillery,  he  summoned  the  fort  to  surren 
der,  allowing  one  hour  for  a  written  reply. 

What  was  to  be  done !  The  whole  garrison  did  not 
exceed  fifty  men.  Captain  Trent  was  absent  at  Wills' 
Creek ;  Frazier,  his  lieutenant,  was  at  his  own  residence 
at  Turtle  Creek,  ten  miles  distant.  There  was  no  officer 
to  reply  but  a  young  ensign  of  the  name  of  Ward.  In 
his  perplexity  he  turned  for  council  to  Tanacharisson, 
the  half-king,  who  was  present  in  the  fort.  The  chief 
advised  the  ensign  to  plead  insufficiency  of  rank  and 
powers,  and  crave  delay  until  the  arrival  of  his  superior 
officer.  The  ensign  repaired  to  the  French  camp  to  offer 
this  excuse  in  person,  and  was  accompanied  by  the  half- 
king.  They  were  courteously  received,  but  Contrecoeur 
was  inflexible.  There  must  be  instant  surrender,  or  he 
would  take  forcible  possession.  All  that  the  ensign 
could  obtain  was  permission  to  depart  with  his  men, 
taking  with  them  their  working  tools.  The  capitulation 
ended.  Contrecosur,  with  true  French  gayety,  invited 
the  ensign  to  sup  with  him ;  treated  him  with  the  utmost 
politeness,  and  wished  him  a  pleasant  journey,  as  he  set 


A   TRYING  SITUATION.  141 

off  the  next  morning  with  his  men  laden  with  their  work 
ing  tools. 

Such  was  the  ensign's  story.  He  was  accompanied  by 
two  Indian  warriors,  sent  by  the  half-king  to  ascertain 
where  the  detachment  was,  what  was  its  strength,  and 
when  it  might  be  expected  at  the  Ohio.  They  bore  a 
speech  from  that  sachem  to  Washington,  and  another, 
with  a  belt  of  wampum  for  the  Governor  of  Virginia.  In 
these  he  plighted  his  steadfast  faith  to  the  English,  and 
claimed  assistance  from  his  brothers  of  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania. 

One  of  these  warriors  Washington  forwarded  on  with 
the  speech  and  wampum  to  Governor  Dinwiddie.  The 
other  he  prevailed  on  to  return  to  the  half -king,  bearing 
a  speech  from  him,  addressed  to  the  "sachems,  warriors 
of  the  Six  United  Nations,  Shannoahs  and  Delawares, 
our  friends  and  brethren."  In  this  he  informed  them 
that  he  was  on  the  advance  with  a  part  of  the  army,  to 
clear  the  road  for  a  greater  force  coming  with  guns, 
ammunition,  and  provisions  ;  and  he  invited  the  half- 
king  and  another  sachem  to  meet  him  on  the  road  as 
soon  as  possible  to  hold  a  council. 

In  fact,  his  situation  was  arduous  in  the  extreme.  Ee- 
garding  the  conduct  of  the  French  in  the  recent  occur = 
rence  an  overt  act  of  war,  he  found  himself  thrown  with 
a  handful  of  raw  recruits  far  on  a  hostile  frontier,  in  the 
midst  of  a  wilderness,  with  an  enemy  at  hand  greatly 
superior  in  number  and  discipline ;  provided  with  artil- 


142  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

lery,  and  all  the  munitions  of  war,  and  within  reach  of 
constant  supplies  and  reinforcements.  Beside  the  French 
that  had  come  from  Venango,  he  had  received  credible 
accounts  of  another  party  ascending  the  Ohio ;  and  of 
six  hundred  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  marching  down 
Scioto  Creek  to  join  the  hostile  camp.  Still,  notwith 
standing  the  accumulating  danger,  it  would  not  do  to  fall 
back,  nor  show  signs  of  apprehension.  His  Indian  allies 
in  such  case  might  desert  him.  The  soldiery,  too,  might 
grow  restless  and  dissatisfied.  He  was  already  annoyed 
by  Captain  Trent's  men,  who,  having  enlisted  as  volun 
teers,  considered  themselves  exempt  from  the  rigor  of 
martial  law ;  and  by  their  example  of  loose  and  refractory 
conduct,  threatened  to  destroy  the  subordination  of  his 
own  troops. 

In  this  dilemma  he  called  a  council  of  war,  in  which  it 
was  determined  to  proceed  to  the  Ohio  Company  store 
house,  at  the  mouth  of  Kedstone  Creek;  fortify  them 
selves  there,  and  wait  for  reinforcements.  Here  they 
might  keep  up  a  vigilant  watch  upon  the  enemy,  and  get 
notice  of  any  hostile  movement  in  time  for  defense,  or 
retreat;  and  should  they  be  reinforced  sufficiently  to 
enable  them  to  attack  the  fort,  they  could  easily  drop 
down  the  river  with  their  artillery. 

With  these  alternatives  in  view,  "Washington  detached 
sixty  men  in  advance  to  make  a  road  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie  for  mortars  and  gren< 
adoes,  and  cannon  of  heavy  metal. 


LEGISLATIVE  CROSS-PURPOSES.  143 

Aware  that  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  was  in  ses 
sion,  and  that  the  Maryland  Assembly  would  also  meet  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days,  he  wrote  directly  to  the  gov 
ernors  of  those  provinces,  acquainting  them  with  the 
hostile  acts  of  the  French,  and  with  his  perilous  situa 
tion;  and  endeavoring  to  rouse  them  to  cooperation  in 
the  common  cause.  We  will  here  note  in  advance  that 
his  letter  was  laid  before  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  a  bill  was  about  to  be  passed  making  appropriations 
for  the  service  of  the  king ;  but  it  fell  through,  in  con 
sequence  of  a  disagreement  between  the  Assembly  and 
the  governor  as  to  the  mode  in  which  the  money  should 
be  raised ;  and  so  no  assistance  was  furnished  to  "Wash 
ington  from  that  quarter.  The  youthful  commander  had 
here  a  foretaste,  in  these  his  incipient  campaigns,  of  the 
perils  and  perplexities  which  awaited  him  from  enemies 
in  the  field,  and  lax  friends  in  legislative  councils  in  the 
grander  operations  of  his  future  years.  Before  setting  off 
for  Bedstone  Creek,  he  discharged  Trent's  refractory  men 
from  his  detachment,  ordering  them  to  await  Colonel 
Fry's  commands;  they,  however,  in  the  true  spirit  of 
volunteers  from  the  backwoods,  dispersed  to  their  sev 
eral  homes. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  observe,  in  this  place,  that  both 
Captain  Trent  and  Lieutenant  Frazier  were  severely  cen 
sured  for  being  absent  from  their  post  at  the  time  of  the 
French  summons.  "  Trent's  behavior,"  said  Washington, 
in  a  letter  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  "  has  been  very  tardy, 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON'. 


and  has  convinced  the  world  of  what  they  before 
pected  —  his  great  timidity.  Lieutenant  Frazier,  though 
not  altogether  blameless,  is  much  more  excusable,  for 
he  would  not  accept  of  the  commission  until  he  had  a 
promise  from  his  captain  that  he  should  not  reside  at  the 
fort,  nor  visit  it  above  once  a  week,  or  as  he  saw  neces 
sity."  In  fact,  Washington  subsequently  recommended 
Frazier  for  the  office  of  adjutant. 


CHAPTEE  XL 


KARCH  TO  THE  LITTLE  MEADOWS.— RUMORS  FROM  THE  OHIO. — CORRESPOND 
ENCE  FROM  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  YOUGHJOGHENY.— ATTEMPT  TO  DESCEND 
THAT  RIVER.— ALARMING  REPORTS.— SCOUTING  PARTIES.— PERILOUS  SITUA 
TION  OF  THE  CAMP.— GIST  AND  LA  FORCE.— MESSAGE  FROM  THE  HALF-KING. 
—FRENCH  TRACKS.— THE  JUMONVILLE  SKIRMISH.— TREATMENT  OF  LA  FORCE. 
—POSITION  AT  THE  GREAT  MEADOWS.— BELLIGERENT  FEELINGS  OF  A  YOUNG 
SOLDIER. 


NT  the  29th  of  April  Washington  set  out  from 
Wills'  Creek  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  men.  He  soon  overtook  those  sent  in 


advance  to  work  the  road ;  they  had  made  but  little  prog 
ress.  It  was  a  difficult  task  to  break  a  road  through  the 
wilderness  sufficient  for  the  artillery  coming  on  with  Col 
onel  Fry's  division.  All  hands  were  now  set  to  work,  but 
with  all  their  labor  they  could  not  accomplish  more  than 
four  miles  a  day.  They  were  toiling  through  Savage 
Mountain  and  that  dreary  forest  region  beyond  it,  since 
bearing  the  sinister  name  of  "The  Shades  of  Death." 
On  the  9th  of  May  they  were  not  further  than  twenty 
miles  from  Wills'  Creek,  at  a  place  called  the  Little 
Meadows. 

Every  day   came   gloomy   accounts    from   the    Ohio ; 
VOL.  i.— 10  145 


146  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

brought  chiefly  by  traders,  who,  with  pack-horses  bear 
ing  their  effects,  were  retreating  to  the  more  settled  parts 
of  the  country.  Some  exaggerated  the  number  of  the 
French,  as  if  strongly  reinforced.  All  represented  them 
as  diligently  at  work  constructing  a  fort.  By  their  ac 
count  Washington  perceived  the  French  had  chosen  the 
very  place  which  he  had  noted  in  his  journal  as  best 
fitted  for  the  purpose. 

One  of  the  traders  gave  information  concerning  La 
Force,  the  French  emissary  who  had  beset  Washington 
when  on  his  mission  to  the  frontier,  and  acted,  as  he 
thought,  the  part  of  a  spy.  He  had  been  at  Gist's  new 
settlement  beyond  Laurel  Hill,  and  was  prowling  about 
the  country  with  four  soldiers  at  his  heels  on  a  pretended 
hunt  after  deserters.  Washington  suspected  him  to  be  on 
a  reconnoitering  expedition. 

It  was  reported,  moreover,  that  the  French  were  lavish 
ing  presents  on  the  Indians  about  the  lower  part  of  the 
river,  to  draw  them  to  their  standard.  Among  all  these 
flying  reports  and  alarms  Washington  was  gratified  to 
learn  that  the  half-king  was  on  his  way  to  meet  him  at 
the  head  of  fifty  warriors. 

After  infinite  toil  through  swamps  and  forests,  and  over 
rugged  mountains,  the  detachment  arrived  at  the  Youg- 
hiogheny  River,  where  they  were  detained  some  days  con 
structing  a  bridge  to  cross  it. 

This  gave  Washington  leisure  to  correspond  with  Gov 
ernor  Dinwiddie,  concerning  matters  which  had  deeply 


FALSE  ECONOMY.  147 

annoyed  him.  By  an  ill-judged  economy  of  the  Virginia 
government  at  this  critical  juncture,  its  provincial  officers 
received  less  pay  than  that  allowed  in  the  regular  army. 
It  is  true  the  regular  officers  were  obliged  to  furnish  their 
own  table,  but  their  superior  pay  enabled  them  to  do  it 
luxuriously ;  whereas  the  provincials  were  obliged  to  do 
hard  duty  on  salt  provisions  and  water.  The  provincial 
officers  resented  this  inferiority  of  pay  as  an  indignity, 
and  declared  that  nothing  prevented  them  from  throwing 
up  their  commissions  but  unwillingness  to  recede  before 
approaching  danger. 

Washington  shared  deeply  this  feeling.  "  Let  him  serve 
voluntarily,  and  he  would  with  the  greatest  pleasure  in 
life  devote  his  services  to  the  expedition — but  to  be 
slaving  through  woods,  rocks,  and  mountains,  for  the 
shadow  of  pay—  "  writes  he,  "  I  would  rather  toil  like  a 
day  laborer  for  a  maintenance,  if  reduced  to  the  necessity, 
than  serve  on  such  ignoble  terms."  Parity  of  pay  was 
indispensable  to  the  dignity  of  the  service. 

Other  instances  of  false  economy  were  pointed  out  by 
him,  forming  so  many  drags  upon  the  expedition  that  he 
quite  despaired  of  success.  "  Be  the  consequence  what 
it  will,  however,"  adds  he,  "  I  am  determined  not  to 
leave  the  regiment,  but  to  be  among  the  last  men  that 
leave  the  Ohio ;  even  if  I  serve  as  a  private  volunteer, 
which  I  greatly  prefer  to  the  establishment  we  are  upon. 
.  .  .  .  I  have  a  constitution  hardy  enough  to  encounter 
and  undergo  the  most  severe  trials,  and  I  flatter  myself 


148  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

resolution  to  face  what  any  man  dares,  as  shall  be  proved 
when  it  comes  to  the  test." 

And  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Colonel  Fairfax — "Foi 
my  own  part,"  writes  he,  "  it  is  a  matter  almost  indiffer 
ent  whether  I  serve  for  full  pay  or  as  a  generous  volun 
teer  ;  indeed,  did  my  circumstances  correspond  with  my 
inclinations,  I  should  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  prefer 
the  latter ;  for  the  motives  that  have  led  me  here  are  pure  and 
noble.  I  had  no  view  of  acquisition  but  that  of  honor,  by  serv 
ing  faithfully  my  king  and  country." 

Such  were  the  noble  impulses  of  Washington  at  the 
a,ge  of  twenty-two,  and  such  continued  to  actuate  him 
throughout  life.  We  have  put  the  latter  part  of  the 
quotation  in  italics,  as  applicable  to  the  motives  which  in 
after  life  carried  him  into  the  Revolution. 

While  the  bridge  over  the  Youghiogheny  was  in  the 
course  of  construction,  the  Indians  assured  Washington 
he  would  never  be  able  to  open  a  wagon-road  across  the 
mountains  to  Bedstone  Creek ;  he  embarked,  therefore, 
in  a  canoe  with  a  lieutenant,  three  soldiers,  and  an  Indian 
guide,  to  try  whether  it  was  possible  to  descend  the 
river.  They  had  not  descended  above  ten  miles  before 
the  Indian  refused  to  go  further.  Washington  soon  ascer 
tained  the  reason.  "  Indians,"  said  he,  "  expect  presents 
— nothing  can  be  done  without  them.  The  French  take 
this  method.  If  you  want  one  or  more  to  conduct  a 
party,  to  discover  the  country,  to  hunt,  or  for  any  par 
ticular  purpose,  they  must  be  bought ;  their  friendship  is 


ALARMING  REPORTS.  149 

not  so  warm  as  to  prompt  them  to  these  services  gratis." 
The  Indian  guide  in  the  present  instance  was  propitiated 
by  the  promise  of  one  of  Washington's  ruffled  shirts  ancl 
a  watch-coat. 

The  river  was  bordered  by  mountains  and  obstructed 
by  rocks  and  rapids.  Indians  might  thread  such  a  laby 
rinth  in  their  light  canoes,  but  it  would  never  admit  the 
transportation  of  troops  and  military  stores.  "Washington 
kept  on  for  thirty  miles,  until  he  came  to  a  place  where 
the  river  fell  nearly  forty  feet  in  the  space  of  fifty  yards. 
There  he  ceased  to  explore,  and  returned  to  camp,  re 
solving  to  continue  forward  by  land. 

On  the  23d  Indian  scouts  brought  word  that  the 
French  were  not  above  eight  hundred  strong,  and  that 
about  half  their  number  had  been  detached  at  night  on  a 
secret  expedition.  Close  upon  this  report  came  a  mes 
sage  from  the  half-king,  addressed  "  to  the  first  of  His 
Majesty's  officers  whom  it  may  concern." 

"It  is  reported,"  said  he,  "that  the  French  army  is 
coming  to  meet  Major  Washington.  Be  on  your  guard 
against  them,  my  brethren,  for  they  intend  to  strike  the 
first  English  they  shall  see.  They  have  been  on  their 
march  two  days.  I  know  not  their  number.  The  half- 
king  and  the  rest  of  the  chiefs  will  be  with  you  in  five 
days  to  hold  a  council." 

In  the  evening  Washington  was  told  that  the  French 
were  crossing  the  ford  of  the  Youghiogheny  about  eigh 
teen  miles  distant.  He  now  hastened  to  take  a  position 


150  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

in  a  place  called  the  Great  Meadows,  where  he  caused 
the  bushes  to  be  cleared  away,  made  an  intrenchment, 
and  prepared  what  he  termed  "  a  charming  field  for  an 
encounter." 

A  party  of  scouts  were  mounted  on  wagon  horses,  and 
sent  out  to  reconnoiter.  They  returned  without  having 
seen  an  enemy.  A  sensitiveness  prevailed  in  the  camp. 
They  were  surrounded  by  forests,  threatened  by  unseen 
foes,  and  hourly  in  danger  of  surprise.  There  was  an 
alarm  about  two  o'clock  in  the  night.  The  sentries 
fired  upon  what  they  took  to  be  prowling  foes.  The 
troops  sprang  to  arms,  and  remained  on  the  alert  until 
daybreak.  Not  an  enemy  was  to  be  seen.  The  roll  was 
called.  Six  men  were  missing,  who  had  deserted. 

On  the  25th  Mr.  Gist  arrived  from  his  place,  about 
fifteen  miles  distant.  La  Force  had  been  there  at  noon 
on  the  previous  day,  with  a  detachment  of  fifty  men,  and 
Gist  had  since  come  upon  their  track  within  five  miles  of 
the  camp.  Washington  considered  La  Force  a  bold, 
enterprising  man,  subtle  and  dangerous  ;  one  to  be  par 
ticularly  guarded  against.  He  detached  seventy-five  men 
in  pursuit  of  him  and  his  prowling  band. 

About  nine  o'clock  at  night  came  an  Indian  messenger 
from  the  half-king,  who  was  encamped  with  several  of 
his  people  about  six  miles  off.  The  chief  had  seen  tracks 
of  two  Frenchmen,  and  was  convinced  their  whole  body 
must  be  in  ambush  near  by. 

Washington  considered  this  the  force  which  had  been 


SKIRMISH  WITH  THE  FRENCH.  151 

hovering  about  him  for  several  days,  and  determined  to 
forestall  their  hostile  designs.  Leaving  a  guard  with  the 
baggage  and  ammunition,  he  set  out  before  ten  o'clock, 
with  forty  men,  to  join  his  Indian  ally.  They  groped 
their  way  in  single  file,  by  footpaths  through  the  woods, 
in  a  heavy  rain  and  murky  darkness,  tripping  occasion 
ally  and  stumbling  over  each  other,  sometimes  losing 
the  track  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  so  that  it  was 
near  sunrise  when  they  reached  the  camp  of  the  half- 
king. 

That  chieftain  received  the  youthful  commander  with 
great  demonstrations  of  friendship,  and  engaged  to  go 
hand  in  hand  with  him  against  the  lurking  enemy.  He 
set  out  accordingly,  accompanied  by  a  few  of  his  warriors 
and  his  associate  sachem  Scarooyadi  or  Monacatoocha, 
and  conducted  Washington  to  the  tracks  which  he  had 
discovered.  Upon  these  he  put  two  of  his  Indians.  They 
followed  them  up  like  hounds,  and  brought  back  word 
that  they  had  traced  them  to  a  low  bottom  surrounded  by 
rocks  and  trees,  where  the  French  were  encamped,  having 
built  a  few  cabins  for  shelter  from  the  rain. 

A  plan  was  now  concerted  to  come  upon  them  by  sur 
prise  ;  Washington  with  his  men  on  the  right ;  the  half- 
king  with  his  warriors  on  the  left ;  all  as  silently  as 
possible.  Washington  was  the  first  upon  the  ground. 
As  he  advanced  from  among  the  rocks  and  trees  at  the 
head  of  his  men,  the  French  caught  sight  of  him  and  ran 
to  their  arms.  A  sharp  firing  instantly  took  place,  and 


152  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

was  kept  up  on  both  sides  for  about  fifteen  minutes, 
Washington  and  his  party  were  most  exposed  and  re 
ceived  all  the  enemy's  fire.  The  balls  whistled  around 
him;  one  man  was  killed  close  by  him,  and  three  others 
wounded.  The  French  at  length,  having  lost  several  of 
their  number,  gave  way  and  ran.  They  were  soon  over 
taken  ;  twenty-one  were  captured,  and  but  one  escaped,  a 
Canadian,  who  carried  the  tidings  of  the  affair  to  the  fort 
on  the  Ohio.  The  Indians  would  have  massacred  the 
prisoners  had  not  Washington  prevented  them.  Ten  of 
the  French  had  fallen  in  the  skirmish,  and  one  been 
wounded.  Washington's  loss  was  the  one  killed  and 
three  wounded  which  we  have  mentioned.  He  had  been 
in  the  hottest  fire,  and  having  for  the  first  time  heard 
balls  whistle  about  him,  considered  his  escape  miracu 
lous.  Jumonville,  the  French  leader,  had  been  shot 
through  the  head  at  the  first  fire.  He  was  a  young  officer 
of  merit,  and  his  fate  was  made  the  subject  of  lamenta 
tion  in  prose  and  verse — chiefly  through  political  motives. 
Of  the  twenty-one  prisoners,  the  two  most  important 
were  an  officer  of  some  consequence  named  Drouillon, 
and  the  subtle  and  redoubtable  La  Force.  As  Washing 
ton  considered  the  latter  an  arch  mischief-maker,  he  was 
rejoiced  to  have  him  in  his  power.  La  Force  and  his 
companion  would  fain  have  assumed  the  sacred  charac 
ters  of  ambassadors,  pretending  they  were  coming  with  a 
summons  to  him  to  depart  from  the  territories  belonging 
to  the  crown  of  France. 


TREATMENT?  OF  LA  FORGE.  153 

Unluckily  for  their  pretensions,  a  letter  of  instructions, 
found  on  Jumonville,  betrayed  their  real  errand,  which 
was  to  inform  themselves  of  the  roads,  rivers,  and  other 
features  of  the  country  as  far  as  the  Potomac ;  to  send 
back  from  time  to  time,  by  fleet  messengers,  all  the  in 
formation  they  could  collect,  and  to  give  word  of  the  day 
on  which  they  intended  to  serve  the  summons. 

Their  conduct  had  been  conformable.  Instead  of  com 
ing  in  a  direct  and  open  manner  to  his  encampment,  when 
they  had  ascertained  where  it  was,  and  delivering  their 
summons,  as  they  would  have  done  had  their  designs 
been  frank  and  loyal,  they  had  moved  back  two  miles,  to 
one  of  the  most  secret  retirements,  better  for  a  deserter 
than  an  ambassador  to  encamp  in,  and  stayed  there,  within 
five  miles  of  his  camp,  sending  spies  to  reconnoiter  it,  and 
despatching  messengers  to  Contrecoeur  to  inform  him  of 
its  position  and  numerical  strength,  to  the  end,  no  doubt, 
that  he  might  send  a  sufficient  detachment  to  enforce 
the  summons  as  soon  as  it  should  be  given.  In  fact,  the 
footprints  which  had  first  led  to  the  discovery  of  the 
French  lurking-place,  were  those  of  two  "  runners "  or 
swift  messengers,  sent  by  Jumonville  to  the  fort  on  the 
Ohio. 

It  would  seem  that  La  Force,  after  all,  was  but  an 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  his  commanding  officers,  and 
not  in  their  full  confidence ;  for  when  the  commission 
and  instructions  found  on  Jumonville  were  read  before 
him,  he  professed  not  to  have  seen  them  before,  and 


154  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

acknowledged,  with  somewhat  of  an  air  of  ingenuousness, 
that  he  believed  they  had  a  hostile  tendency.* 

Upon  the  whole,  it  was  the  opinion  of  Washington  and 
his  officers  that  the  summons,  on  which  so  much  stress 
was  laid,  was  a  mere  specious  pretext  to  mask  their  real 
designs  and  be  used  as  occasion  might  require.  "  That 
they  were  spies  rather  than  anything  else,"  and  were  to 
be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war. 

The  half-king  joined  heartily  in  this  opinion :  indeed, 
had  the  fate  of  the  prisoners  been  in  his  hands,  neither 
diplomacy  nor  anything  else  would  have  been  of  avail. 
"  They  came  with  hostile  intentions,"  he  said ;  "  they 
had  bad  hearts,  and  if  his  English  brothers  were  so  fool 
ish  as  to  let  them  go,  he  would  never  aid  in  taking 
another  Frenchman." 

The  prisoners  were  accordingly  conducted  to  the  camp 
at  the  Great  Meadows,  and  sent  on  the  following  day 
(29th),  under  a  strong  escort  to  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
then  at  Winchester.  Washington  had  treated  them  with 
great  courtesy ;  had  furnished  Drouillon  and  La  Force 
with  clothing  from  his  own  scanty  stock,  and,  at  their 
request,  given  them  letters  to  the  governor,  bespeaking 
for  them  "  the  respect  and  favor  due  to  their  character 
and  personal  merit." 

A  sense  of  duty,  however,  obliged  him,  in  his  general 
despatch,  to  put  the  governor  on  his  guard  against  La 

*  Washington's  letter  to  Dinwiddie,  29th  May,  1754. 


THE  POSITION  AT  GREAT  MEADOWS.  155 

Force.  "I  really  think,  if  released,  he  would  do  more 
to  our  disservice  than  fifty  other  men,  as  he  is  a  person 
whose  active  spirit  leads  him  into  all  parties,  and  has 
brought  him  acquainted  with  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Add  to  this  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Indian  tongue, 
and  great  influence  with  the  Indians." 

After  the  departure  of  the  prisoners,  he  wrote  again 
respecting  them  :  "I  have  still  stronger  presumption, 
indeed  almost  confirmation,  that  they  were  sent  as  spies, 
and  were  ordered  to  wait  near  us,  till  they  were  fully 
informed  of  our  intentions,  situation  and  strength,  and 
were  to  have  acquainted  their  commander  therewith,  and 
to  have  been  lurking  here  for  reinforcements  before  they 
served  the  summons,  if  served  at  all. 

"  I  doubt  not  but  they  will  endeavor  to  amuse  you  with 
many  smooth  stories,  as  they  did  me  ;  but  they  were  con 
futed  in  them  all,  and,  by  circumstances  too  plain  to  be 
denied,  almost  made  ashamed  of  their  assertions. 

"I  have  heard  since  they  went  away,  they  should  say 
they  called  on  us  not  to  fire ;  but  that  I  know  to  be  false, 
for  I  was  the  first  man  that  approached  them,  and  the 
first  whom  they  saw,  and  immediately  they  ran  to  their 
arms,  and  fired  briskly  till  they  were  defeated."  .... 
"  I  fancy  they  will  have  the  assurance  of  asking  the  priv 
ileges  due  to  an  embassy,  when  in  strict  justice  they 
ought  to  be  hanged  as  spies  of  the  worst  sort* 

The  situation  of  Washington  was  now  extremely  peril 
ous.  Contrecceur,  it  was  said,  had  nearly  a  thousand 


156  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

men  with  him  at  the  fort,  besides  Indian  allies ;  and  rein 
forcements  were  on  the  way  to  join  him.  The  messengers 
sent  by  Jumonville,  previous  to  the  late  affair,  must  have 
apprised  him  of  the  weakness  of  the  encampment  on  the 
Great  Meadows.  Washington  hastened  to  strengthen  it. 
He  wrote  by  express  also  to  Colonel  Fry,  who  lay  ill  at 
Wills'  Creek,  urging  instant  reinforcements ;  but  declar 
ing  his  resolution  to  "  fight  with  very  unequal  numbers 
rather  than  give  up  one  inch  of  what  he  had  gained." 

The  half-king  was  full  of  fight.  He  sent  the  scalps  of 
the  Frenchmen  slain  in  the  late  skirmish,  accompanied 
by  black  wampum  and  hatchets,  to  all  his  allies,  summon 
ing  them  to  take  up  arms  and  join  him  at  Bedstone 
Creek,  "  for  their  brothers,  the  English,  had  now  begun 
in  earnest."  It  is  said  he  would  even  have  sent  the  scalps 
of  the  prisoners  had  not  Washington  interfered.*  He  went 
off  for  his  home,  promising  to  send  down  the  river  for  all 
the  Mingoes  and  Shawnees,  and  to  be  back  at  the  camp 
on  the  30th,  with  thirty  or  forty  warriors,  accompanied 
by  their  wives  and  children.  To  assist  him  in  the  trans 
portation  of  his  people  and  their  effects  thirty  men  were 
detached,  and  twenty  horses. 

"I  shall  expect  every  hour  to  be  attacked,"  writes 
Washington  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  on  the  29th,  "and 
by  unequal  numbers,  which  I  must  withstand,  if  there  are 
five  to  one,  for  I  fear  the  consequence  will  be  that  we 

*  Letter  from  Virginia.    London  Mag.  1754. 


MILITARY  EXCITEMENT.  157 

shall  lose  the  Indians  if  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be  driven 
back.  Your  honor  may  depend  I  will  not  be  surprised, 
let  them  come  at  what  hour  they  will,  and  this  is  as  much 
as  I  can  promise ;  but  my  best  endeavors  shall  not  be 
wanting  to  effect  more.  I  doubt  not,  if  you  hear  I  am 
beaten,  but  you  will  hear  at  the  same  time  that  we  have 
done  our  duty  in  fighting  as  long  as  there  is  a  shadow  of 
hope." 

The  fact  is,  that  Washington  was  in  a  high  state  of 
military  excitement.  He  was  a  young  soldier ;  had  been 
for  the  first  time  in  action,  and  been  successful.  The 
letters  we  have  already  quoted  show,  in  some  degree,  the 
fervor  of  his  mind,  and  his  readiness  to  brave  the  worst ; 
but  a  short  letter  written  to  one  of  his  brothers,  on  the 
31st,  lays  open  the  recesses  of  his  heart. 

"We  expect  every  hour  to  be  attacked  by  superior 
force ;  but  if  they  forbear  but  one  day  longer  we  shall  be 

prepared  for  them We  have  already  got  intrench- 

ments,  and  are  about  a  palisade,  which,  I  hope,  will  be 
finished  to-day.  The  Mingoes  have  struck  the  French, 
and,  I  hope,  will  give  a  good  blow  before  they  have  done. 
I  expect  forty  odd  of  them  here  to  night,  which,  with  our 
fort,  and  some  reinforcements  from  Colonel  Fry,  will 
enable  us  to  exert  our  noble  courage  with  spirit." 

Alluding  in  a  postscript  to  the  late  affair,  he  adds  :  "  I 
fortunately  escaped  without  any  wound;  for  the  right 
wing,  where  I  stood,  was  exposed  to,  and  received  all  the 
enemy's  fire  ;  and  it  was  the  part  whe^e  the  man  waa 


158  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

killed  and  the  rest  wounded.  /  heard  the  bullets  whistle^ 
and,  believe  me,  there  is  something  charming  in  the  sound." 

This  rodomontade,  as  Horace  Walpole  terms  it,  reached 
the  ears  of  George  II.  "  He  would  not  say  so,"  observed 
the  king,  dryly,  "if  he  had  been  used  to  hear  many."  * 

Washington  himself  thought  so  when  more  experienced 
in  warfare.  Being  asked,  many  years  afterwards,  whether 
he  really  had  made  such  a  speech  about  the  whistling  of 
bullets,  "  If  I  said  so,"  replied  he  quietly,  "  it  was  when 
I  was  young."  t  He  was,  indeed,  but  twenty- two  years 
old  when  he  said  it ;  it  was  just  after  his  first  battle ;  he 
was  flushed  with  success,  and  was  writing  to  a  brother. 

*  This  anecdote  has  hitherto  rested  on  the  authority  of  Horace  Walpole, 
who  gives  it  in  his  memoirs  of  George  II.,  and  in  his  correspondence. 
He  cites  the  rodomontade  as  contained  in  the  express  despatched  by 
Washington,  whom  he  pronounces  a  "brave  braggart."  As  no  de 
spatch  of  Washington  contains  any  rodomontade  of  the  land,  as  it  is  quite 
at  variance  with  the  general  tenor  of  his  character,  and  as  Horace  Wal 
pole  is  well  known  to  have  been  a  "great  gossip  dealer,"  apt  to  catch  up 
any  idle  rumor  that  would  give  piquancy  to  a  paragraph,  the  story  has 
been  held  in  great  distrust.  We  met  with  the  letter  recently,  however, 
in  a  column  of  the  London  Magazine  for  1754,  page  370,  into  which  it 
must  have  found  its  way  not  long  after  it  was  written, 

f  Gordon,  Hist.  Am.  War,  vol.  ii.  p.  303. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

«JA«CITT  IN  THE  CAMP.— DEATH  OF  COLONEL  FRY.— PROMOTIONS.— -MACKAY 
AND  HIS  INDEPENDENT  COMPANY. — MAJOK  MUSE. — INDIAN  CEREMONIALS. 
—PUBLIC  PRAYERS  IN  CAMP.— ALARMS.— INDEPENDENCE  OF  AN  INDEPEND 
ENT  COMPANY.— AFFAIRS  AT  THE  GREAT  MEADOWS.— DESERTION  OF  THE 
INDIAN  ALLIES.— CAPITULATION  OF  FORT  NECESSITY.— VAN  BRAAM  AS  AN 
INTERPRETER. — INDIAN  PLUNDERERS. — RETURN  TO  WILLIAMSBURG. — VOTE 
OF  THANKS  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  BURGESSES.— SUBSEQUENT  FORTUNES  OF  THE 
HALF-KING. — COMMENTS  ON  THE  AFFAIR  OF  JUMONVILLE  AND  THE  CON 
DUCT  OF  VAN  BRAAM. 


CAECITY  began  to  prevail  in  the  camp.  Con 
tracts  had  been  made  with  George  Croghan  for 
flour,  of  which  he  had  large  quantities  at  his 
frontier  establishment ;  for  he  was  now  trading  with  the 
army  as  well  as  with  the  Indians.  None,  however,  made 
its  appearance.  There  was  mismanagement  in  the  com 
missariat.  At  one  time  the  troops  were  six  days  without 
flour :  and  even  then  had  only  a  casual  supply  from  an 
Ohio  trader.  In  this  time  of  scarcity  the  half-king,  his 
fellow-sachem  Scarooyadi,  and  thirty  or  forty  warriors, 
arrived,  bringing  with  them  their  wives  and  children — so 
many  more  hungry  mouths  to  be  supplied.  Washington 
wrote  urgently  to  Croghan  to  send  forward  all  the  flour 
he  could  furnish. 

150 


160  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

News  came  of  the  death  of  Colonel  Fry  at  Wills'  Creek, 
and  that  he  was  to  be  succeeded  in  command  of  the  ex 
pedition  by  Colonel  James  Innes  of  North  Carolina,  who 
was  actually  at  Winchester  with  three  hundred  and  fifty 
North  Carolina  troops.  Washington,  who  felt  the  in 
creasing  responsibilities  and  difficulties  of  his  situation, 
rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  being  under  the  command  of 
an  experienced  officer,  who  had  served  in  company  with 
his  brother  Lawrence  at  the  siego  of  Carthagena.  The 
colonel,  however,  never  came  to  the  camp,  nor  did  the 
North  Carolina  troops  render  any  service  in  the  cam 
paign — the  fortunes  of  which  might  otherwise  have  been 
very  different. 

By  the  death  of  Fry  the  command  of  the  regiment  de 
volved  on  Washington.  Finding  a  blank  major's  com 
mission  among  Fry's  papers,  he  gave  it  to  Captain  Adam 
Stephen,  who  had  conducted  himself  with  spirit.  As 
there  would  necessarily  be  other  changes,  he  wrote  to 
Governor  Dinwiddie  in  behalf  of  Jacob  Van  Braam. 
"  He  has  acted  as  captain  ever  since  we  left  Alexandria. 
He  is  an  experienced  officer,  and  worthy  of  the  command 
he  has  enjoyed." 

The  palisaded  fort  was  now  completed,  and  was  named 
Fort  Necessity,  from  the  pinching  famine  that  had  pre 
vailed  during  its  construction.  The  scanty  force  in  camp 
tfas  augmented  to  three  hundred,  by  the  arrival  from 
Wills'  Creek  of  the  men  who  had  been  under  Colonel 
Fry.  With  them  came  the  surgeon  of  the  regiment,  Dr. 


MACKAY  yS  INDEPENDENT  COMPANY.  161 

James  Craik,  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  and  one  destined  to 
become  a  faithful  and  confidential  friend  of  Washington 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

A  letter  from  Governor  Dinwiddie  announced,  how 
ever,  that  Captain  Mackay  would  soon  arrive  with  an 
independent  company  of  one  hundred  men,  from  South 
Carolina. 

The  title  of  independent  company  had  a  sound  omi 
nous  of  trouble.  Troops  of  the  kind,  raised  in  the  colo 
nies,  under  direction  of  the  governors,  were  paid  by  the 
Crown,  and  the  officers  had  king's  commissions ;  such, 
doubtless,  had  Captain  Mackay.  "I  should  have  been 
particularly  obliged,"  writes  Washington  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie,  "  if  you  had  declared  whether  he  was  under 
my  command,  or  independent  of  it.  I  hope  he  will  have 
more  sense  than  to  insist  upon  any  unreasonable  distinc 
tion,  because  he  and  his  officers  have  commissions  from 
His  Majesty.  Let  him  consider,  though  we  are  greatly 
inferior  in  respect  to  advantages  of  profit,  yet  we  have 
the  same  spirit  to  serve  our  gracious  king  as  they  have, 
and  are  as  ready  and  willing  to  sacrifice  our  lives  for  our 
country's  good.  And  here,  once  more,  and  for  the  last 
time,  I  must  say,  that  it  will  be  a  circumstance  which  will 
act  upon  some  officers  of  this  regiment,  above  all  measure, 
to  be  obliged  to  serve  upon  such  different  terms,  when 
their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  operations  are  equally, 
and,  I  dare  say,  as  effectually  exposed  as  those  of  others, 
who  are  happy  enough  to  have  the  king's  commission-*' 

TOL.  I.— 11 


162  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

On  the  9th  arrived  Washington's  early  instructor  in 
military  tactics,  Adjutant  Muse,  recently  appointed  a 
major  in  the  regiment.  He  was  accompanied  by  Mon- 
tour,  the  Indian  interpreter,  now  a  provincial  captain, 
and  brought  with  him  nine  swivels,  and  a  small  supply 
of  powder  and  ball.  Fifty  or  sixty  horses  were  forthwith 
sent  to  "Wills'  Creek,  to  bring  on  further  supplies,  and 
Mr.  Gist  was  urged  to  hasten  forward  the  artillery. 

Major  Muse  was  likewise  the  bearer  of  a  belt  of  wam 
pum  and  a  speech,  from  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  the  half- 
king  ;  with  medals  for  the  chiefs,  and  goods  for  presents 
among  the  friendly  Indians,  a  measure  which  had  been 
suggested  by  Washington.  They  were  distributed  with 
that  grand  ceremonial  so  dear  to  the  red  man.  The 
chiefs  assembled,  painted  and  decorated  in  all  their  sav 
age  finery ;  Washington  wore  a  medal  sent  him  by  the 
governor  for  such  occasions.  The  wampum  and  speech 
having  been  delivered,  he  advanced,  and  with  all  due 
solemnity  decorated  the  chiefs  and  warriors  with  the 
medals,  which  they  were  to  wear  in  remembrance  of  their 
father  the  king  of  England. 

Among  the  warriors  thus  decorated  was  a  son  of  Queen 
Aliquippa,  the  savage  princess  whose  good  graces  Wash 
ington  had  secured  in  the  preceding  year  by  the  present 
of  an  old  watch- coat,  and  whose  friendship  was  impor 
tant,  her  town  being  at  no  great  distance  from  the  French 
fort.  She  had  requested  that  her  son  might  be  admitted 
into  the  war  councils  of  the  camp,  ajid  receive  an  Eng- 


ALARMS.  163 

lish  name.  The  name  of  Fairfax  was  accordingly  given 
to  him,  in  the  customary  Indian  form ;  the  half-king  be 
ing  desirous  of  like  distinction,  received  the  name  of  Din- 
widdie.  The  sachems  returned  the  compliment  in  kind, 
by  giving  Washington  the  name  of  Connotaucarius ;  the 
meaning  of  which  is  not  explained. 

William  Fairfax,  Washington's  paternal  adviser,  had 
recently  counseled  him,  by  letter,  to  have  public  prayers 
in  his  camp  ;  especially  when  there  were  Indian  families 
there ;  this  was  accordingly  done  at  the  encampment  in 
the  Great  Meadows,  and  it  certainly  was  not  one  of  the 
least  striking  pictures  presented  in  this  wild  campaign 
— the  youthful  commander,  presiding  with  calm  serious 
ness  over  a  motley  assemblage  of  half-equipped  soldiery, 
leathern-clad  hunters  and  woodsmen,  and  painted  savages 
with  their  wives  and  children,  and  uniting  them  all  in 
solemn  devotion  by  his  own  example  and  demeanor. 

On  the  10th  there  was  agitation  in  the  camp.  Scouts 
hurried  in  with  word,  as  Washington  understood  them, 
that  a  party  of  ninety  Frenchmen  were  approaching.  He 
instantly  ordered  out  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  his  best  men ; 
put  himself  at  their  head,  and  leaving  Major  Muse  with 
the  rest,  to  man  the  fort  and  mount  the  swivels,  sallied 
forth  "  in  the  full  hope,"  as  he  afterwards  wrote  to  Gov 
ernor  Dinwiddie,  "of  procuring  him  another  present  of 
French  prisoners." 

It  was  another  effervescence  of  his  youthful  military 
ardor,  and  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  report  of  the 


164  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON*. 

scouts  had  been  either  exaggerated  or  misunderstood 
The  ninety  Frenchmen  in  military  array  dwindled  dowr, 
into  nine  French  deserters. 

According  to  their  account,  the  fort  at  the  Fork  was 
completed,  and  named  Duquesne,  in  honor  of  the  Gov 
ernor  of  Canada.  It  was  proof  against  all  attack,  except 
ing  with  bombs,  on  the  land  side.  The  garrison  did  not 
exceed  five  hundred,  but  two  hundred  more  were  hourly 
expected,  and  nine  hundred  in  the  course  of  a  fortnight. 

Washington's  suspicions  with  respect  to  La  Force's 
party  were  justified  by  the  report  of  these  deserters ;  they 
had  been  sent  out  as  spies,  and  were  to  show  the  sum 
mons  if  discovered  or  overpowered.  The  French  com 
mander,  they  added,  had  been  blamed  for  sending  out  so 
small  a  party. 

On  the  same  day  Captain  Mackay  arrived,  with  his 
independent  company  of  South  Carolinians.  The  cross- 
purposes  which  Washington  had  apprehended,  soon 
manifested  themselves.  The  captain  was  civil  and  well 
disposed,  but  full  of  formalities  and  points  of  etiquette. 
Holding  a  commission  direct  from  the  king,  he  could  not 
bring  himself  to  acknowledge  a  provincial  officer  as  his 
superior.  He  encamped  separately,  kept  separate  guards, 
would  not  agree  that  Washington  should  assign  any  rally 
ing  place  for  his  men  in  case  of  alarm,  and  objected  to 
receive  from  him  the  parole  and  countersign,  though 
necessary  for  their  common  safety. 

Washington   conducted   himself  with    circumspection, 


THE  MARCH  TO  REDSTONE  CREEK.  165 

avoiding  everything  that  might  call  up  a  question  of 
command,  and  reasoning  calmly  whenever  such  question 
occurred;  but  he  urged  the  governor, by  letter,  to  pre 
scribe  their  relative  rank  and  authority.  "  He  thinks  you 
have  not  a  power  to  give  commissions  that  will  command 
him.  If  so,  I  can  very  confidently  say  that  his  absence 
would  tend  to  the  public  advantage." 

On  the  llth  of  June,  Washington  resumed  the  laborious 
march  for  Bedstone  Creek.  As  Captain  Mackay  could  not 
oblige  his  men  to  work  on  the  road  unless  they  were  al 
lowed  a  shilling  sterling  a  day,  and  as  Washington  did 
not  choose  to  pay  this,  nor  to  suffer  them  to  march  at 
their  ease  while  his  own  faithful  soldiers  were  laboriously 
employed,  he  left  the  captain  and  his  independent  com 
pany  as  a  guard  at  Fort  Necessity,  and  undertook  to 
complete  the  military  road  with  his  own  men. 

Accordingly,  he  and  his  Virginia  troops  toiled  forward 
through  the  narrow  defiles  of  the  mountains,  working  on 
the  road  as  they  went.  Scouts  were  sent  out  in  all  di 
rections,  to  prevent  surprise.  While  on  the  march  he 
was  continually  beset  by  sachems,  with  their  tedious 
ceremonials  and  speeches,  all  to  very  little  purpose. 
Some  of  these  chiefs  were  secretly  in  the  French  inter 
est  ;  few  rendered  any  real  assistance,  and  all  expected 
presents. 

At  Gist's  establishment,  about  thirteen  miles  from  Fort 
Necessity,  Washington  received  certain  intelligence  that 
ample  reinforcements  had  arrived  at  Fort  Duquesne,  and 


166  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

a  large  force  would  instantly  be  detached  against  him, 
Coming  to  a  halt,  he  began  to  throw  up  intrenchments, 
calling  in  two  foraging  parties,  and  sending  word  to  Cap 
tain  Mackay  to  join  him  with  all  speed.  The  captain  and 
his  company  arrived  in  the  evening ;  the  foraging  parties 
the  next  morning.  A  council  of  war  was  held,  in  which 
the  idea  of  awaiting  the  enemy  at  this  place  was  unani 
mously  abandoned. 

A  rapid  and  toilsome  retreat  ensued.  There  was  a 
deficiency  of  horses.  Washington  gave  up  his  own  to  aid 
in  transporting  the  military  munitions,  leaving  his  bag 
gage  to  be  brought  on  by  soldiers,  whom  he  paid  liber 
ally.  The  other  officers  followed  his  example.  The 
weather  was  sultry ;  the  roads  were  rough ;  provisions 
were  scanty,  and  the  men  dispirited  by  hunger.  The 
Virginian  soldiers  took  turns  to  drag  the  swivels,  but  felt 
almost  insulted  by  the  conduct  of  the  South  Carolinians, 
who,  piquing  themselves  upon  their  assumed  privileges 
as  "king's  soldiers,"  sauntered  along  at  their  ease;  refus 
ing  to  act  as  pioneers,  or  participate  in  the  extra  labors 
incident  to  a  hurried  retreat. 

On  the  1st  of  July  they  reached  the  Great  Meadows. 
Here  the  Virginians,  exhausted  by  fatigue,  hunger,  and 
vexation,  declared  they  would  carry  the  baggage  and  drag 
the  swivels  no  further.  Contrary  to  his  original  inten 
tions,  therefore,  Washington  determined  to  halt  here  for 
the  present,  and  fortify,  sending  off  expresses  to  hasten 
supplies  and  reinforcements  from  Wills'  Creek,  where  he 


AFFAIRS  AT  THE  GREAT  MEADOWS.  167 

Jiad  reason  to  believe  that  two  independent  companies 
from  New  York  were  by  this  time  arrived. 

The  retreat  to  the  Great  Meadows  had  not  been  in  the 
least  too  precipitate.  Captain  de  Yilliers,  a  brother-in- 
law  of  Jumonville,  had  actually  sallied  forth  from  Fort 
Duquesne  at  the  head  of  upwards  of  five  hundred  French, 
and  several  hundred  Indians,  eager  to  avenge  the  death 
of  his  relative.  Arriving  about  dawn  of  day  at  Gist's 
plantation,  he  surrounded  the  works  which  "Washington 
had  hastily  thrown  up  there,  and  fired  into  them.  Find 
ing  them  deserted,  he  concluded  that  those  of  whom  he 
came  in  search  had  made  good  their  retreat  to  the  settle 
ments,  and  it  was  too  late  to  pursue  them.  He  was  on 
the  point  of  returning  to  Fort  Duquesne,  when  a  deserter 
arrived,  who  gave  word  that  Washington  had  come  to  a 
halt  in  the  Great  Meadows,  where  his  troops  were  in  a 
starving  condition ;  for  his  own  part,  he  added,  hearing 
that  the  French  were  coming,  he  had  deserted  to  them  to 
escape  starvation. 

De  Villiers  ordered  the  fellow  into  confinement ;  to  be 
rewarded  if  his  words  proved  true,  otherwise  to  be  hangedr 
He  then  pushed  forward  for  the  Great  Meadows.* 

In  the  meantime  Washington  had  exerted  himself  to 
enlarge  and  strengthen  Fort  Necessity,  nothing  of  which 
had  been  done  by  Captain  Mackay  and  his  men,  while 
encamped  there.  The  fort  was  about  a  hundred  feet 

*  Hazard's  Register  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  iv.  p.  22. 


1(53  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

square,  protected  by  trenches  and  palisades.  It  stood 
on  the  margin  of  a  small  stream,  nearly  in  the  centre  of 
the  Great  Meadows,  which  is  a  grassy  plain,  perfectly 
level,  surrounded  by  wooded  hills  of  a  moderate  height, 
and  at  that  place  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
wide.  Washington  asked  no  assistance  from  the  South 
Carolina  troops,  but  set  to  work  with  his  Virginians, 
animating  them  by  word  and  example ;  sharing  in  the 
labor  of  felling  trees,  hewing  off  the  branches,  and  roll 
ing  up  the  trunks  to  form  a  breastwork. 

At  this  critical  juncture  he  was  deserted  by  his  Indian 
allies.  They  were  disheartened  at  the  scanty  prepara 
tions  for  defense  against  a  superior  force,  and  offended  at 
being  subjected  to  military  command.  The  half-king 
thought  he  had  not  been  sufficiently  consulted,  and  that 
his  advice  had  not  been  sufficiently  followed ;  such,  at 
least,  were  some  of  the  reasons  which  he  subsequently 
gave  for  abandoning  the  youthful  commander  on  the  ap* 
proach  of  danger.  The  true  reason  was  a  desire  to 
put  his  wife  and  children  in  a  place  of  safety.  Most  of 
his  warriors  followed  his  example ;  very  few,  and  those 
probably  who  had  no  families  at  risk,  remained  in  the 
camp. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  3d,  while  Washington  and 
his  men  were  working  on  the  fort,  a  sentinel  came  in 
wounded  and  bleeding,  having  been  fired  upon.  Scouts 
brought  word  shortly  afterwards  that  Ahe  French  were  in 
force,  about  four  miles  off.  Washington  drew  up  his 


ATTACK  ON  FORT  NECESSITY  169 

men  on  level  ground  outside  of  the  works,  to  await  their 
attack.  About  11  o'clock  there  was  a  firing  of  musketry 
from  among  trees  on  rising  ground,  but  so  distant  as  to 
do  no  harm  ;  suspecting  this  to  be  a  stratagem  designed  to 
draw  his  men  into  the  woods,  he  ordered  them  to  keep 
quiet  and  refrain  from  firing  until  the  foe  should  show 
themselves,  and  draw  near. 

The  firing  was  kept  up,  but  still  under  cover.  He  now 
fell  back  with  his  men  into  the  trenches,  ordering  them 
to  fire  whenever  they  could  get  sight  of  an  enemy.  In 
this  way  there  was  skirmishing  throughout  the  day ;  the 
French  and  Indians  advancing  as  near  as  the  covert  of 
the  woods  would  permit,  which  in  the  nearest  place  was 
sixty  yards,  but  never  into  open  sight.  In  the  meanwhile 
the  rain  fell  in  torrents ;  the  harassed  and  jaded  troops 
were  half  drowned  in  their  trenches,  and  many  of  their 
muskets  were  rendered  unfit  for  use. 

About  eight  at  night  the  French  requested  a  parley. 
Washington  hesitated.  It  might  be  a  stratagem  to  gain 
admittance  for  a  spy  into  the  fort.  The  request  was  re 
peated,  with  the  addition  that  an  officer  might  be  sent  to 
treat  with  them,  under  their  parole  for  his  safety.  Un 
fortunately  the  Chevalier  de  Peyrouney,  engineer  of  the 
regiment,  and  the  only  one  who  could  speak  French  cor 
rectly,  was  wounded  and  disabled.  Washington  had  to 
send,  therefore,  his  ancient  swordsman  and  interpreter, 
Jacob  Yan  Braam.  The  captain  returned  twice  witli 
separate  terms,  in  which  the  garrison  was  required  tc 


170  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

surrender ;  both  were  rejected.  He  returned  a  third 
time,  with  written  articles  of  capitulation.  They  were 
in  French.  As  no  implements  for  writing  were  at  hand, 
Van  Braam  undertook  to  translate  them  by  word  of 
mouth.  A  candle  was  brought,  and  held  close  to  the 
paper  while  he  read.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents ;  it  was 
difficult  to  keep  the  light  from  being  extinguished.  The 
captain  rendered  the  capitulation,  article  by  article,  in 
mongrel  English,  while  Washington  and  his  officers  stood 
listening,  endeavoring  to  disentangle  the  meaning.  One 
article  stipulated  that  on  surrendering  the  fort  they 
should  leave  all  their  military  stores,  munitions,  and 
artillery  in  possession  of  the  French.  This  was  objected 
to,  and  was  readily  modified. 

The  main  articles,  as  Washington  and  his  officers  un 
derstood  them,  were,  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  re 
turn  to  the  settlements  without  molestation  from  French 
or  Indians.  That  they  should  march  out  of  the  fort  with 
the  honors  of  war,  drums  beating  and  colors  flying,  and 
with  all  their  effects  and  military  stores  excepting  the 
artillery,  which  should  be  destroyed.  That  they  should 
be  allowed  to  deposit  their  effects  in  some  secret  place, 
and  leave  a  guard  to  protect  them  until  they  could  send 
horses  to  bring  them  away — their  horses  having  been 
nearly  all  killed  or  lost  during  the  action.  That  they 
should  give  their  word  of  honor  not  to  attempt  any 
buildings  or  improvements  on  the  lands  of  His  Most 
Christian  Majesty,  for  the  space  of  a  year.  That  the 


INDIAN  PLUNDERERS.  171 

prisoners  taken  in  the  skirmish  of  Jumonville  should  be 
restored,  and  until  their  delivery  Captain  Van  Braam  and 
Captain  Stobo  should  remain  with  the  French  as  hostages.* 
The  next  morning,  accordingly,  Washington  and  his 
men  marched  out  of  their  forlorn  fortress  with  the  hon 
ors  of  war,  bearing  with  them  their  regimental  colors, 
but  leaving  behind  a  large  flag,  too  cumbrous  to  be  trans 
ported.  Scarcely  had  they  begun  their  march,  however, 
when,  in  defiance  of  the  terms  of  capitulation,  they  were 
beset  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  allies  to  the  French, 
who  began  plundering  the  baggage,  and  committing  other 
irregularities.  Seeing  that  the  French  did  not,  or  could 
not,  prevent  them,  and  that  all  the  baggage  which  could 
not  be  transported  on  the  shoulders  of  his  troops  would 
fall  into  the  hands  of  these  savages,  "Washington  ordered 
it  to  be  destroyed,  as  well  as  the  artillery,  gunpowder, 
and  other  military  stores.  All  this  detained  him  until 
ten  o'clock,  when  he  set  out  on  his  melancholy  march. 
He  had  not  proceeded  above  a  mile  when  two  or  three  of 
the  wounded  men  were  reported  to  be  missing.  He  im 
mediately  detached  a  few  men  back  in  quest  of  them, 
and  continued  on  until  three  miles  from  Fort  Necessity, 
where  he  encamped  for  the  night,  and  was  rejoined  by 
the  stragglers. 

*  Horace  Walpole,  in  a  flippant  notice  of  this  capitulation,  says  :  "  The 
French  have  tied  up  the  hands  of  an  excellent  fanfaron,  a  Major  Wash 
ington,  whom  they  took  and  engaged  not  to  serve  for  one  year."  (Corre 
spondence,  vol.  iii.  p.  73.)  Walpole,  at  this  early  date,  seems  to  have 
considered  Washington  a  perfect  fire-eater. 


172  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  this  affair,  out  of  the  Virginia  regiment,  consisting 
of  three  hundred  and  five  men,  officers  included,  twelve 
had  been  killed,  and  forty-three  wounded.  The  number 
killed  and  wounded  in  Captain  Mackay's  company  is  not 
known.  The  loss  of  the  French  and  Indians  is  supposed 
to  have  been  much  greater. 

In  the  following  day's  march  the  troops  seemed  jaded 
and  disheartened ;  they  were  encumbered  and  delayed 
by  the  wounded ;  provisions  were  scanty,  and  they  had 
seventy  weary  miles  to  accomplish  before  they  could 
meet  with  supplies.  Washington,  however,  encouraged 
them  by  his  own  steadfast  and  cheerful  demeanor,  and  by 
sharing  all  their  toils  and  privations ;  and  at  length  con 
ducted  them  in  safety  to  "Wills'  Creek,  where  they  found 
ample  provisions  in  the  military  magazines.  Leaving 
them  here  to  recover  their  strength,  he  proceeded  with 
Captain  Mackay  to  Williamsburg,  to  make  his  military 
report  to  the  governor. 

A  copy  of  the  capitulation  was  subsequently  laid 
before  the  Yirginia  House  of  Burgesses,  with  explana 
tions.  Notwithstanding  the  unfortunate  result  of  the 
campaign,  the  conduct  of  Washington  and  his  officers 
was  properly  appreciated,  and  they  received  a  vote  of 
thanks  for  their  bravery,  and  gallant  defense  of  their 
country.  Three  hundred  pistoles  (nearly  eleven  hundred 
dollars)  also  were  voted  to  be  distributed  among  the  pri 
vates  who  had  been  in  action. 

From  the  vote  of  thanks  two  officers  were  excepted ; 


FORTUNES  OF  THE  HALF-KINO. 


173 


Major  Muse,  who  was  charged  with  cowardice,  and 
Washington's  unfortunate  master  of  fence  and  blunder 
ing  interpreter,  Jacob  Van  Braam,  who  was  accused  of 
treachery,  in  purposely  misinterpreting  the  articles  of 
capitulation. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  we  will  anticipate  dates  to 
record  the  fortunes  of  the  half-king  after  his  withdrawal 
from  the  camp.  He  and  several  of  his  warriors,  with 
their  wives  and  children,  retreated  to  Aughquick,  in  the 
back  part  of  Pennsylvania,  where  George  Croghan  had 
an  agency,  and  was  allowed  money  from  time  to  time  for 
the  maintenance  of  Indian  allies.  By  the  by,  Washing 
ton,  in  his  letter  to  William  Fairfax,  expressed  himself 
much  disappointed  in  Croghan  and  Montour,  who  proved, 
he  said,  to  be  great  pretenders,  "  and  by  vainly  boasting 
of  their  interest  with  the  Indians,  involved  the  country 
in  great  calamity,  causing  dependence  to  be  placed  where 
there  was  none."  *  For,  with  all  their  boast,  they  never 
could  induce  above  thirty  fighting  men  to  join  the  camp, 
and  not  more  than  half  of  those  rendered  any  service. 

As  to  the  half-king,  he  expressed  himself  perfectly 
disgusted  with  the  white  man's  mode  of  warfare.  The 
French,  he  said,  were  cowards  ;  the  English,  fools. 
Washington  was  a  good  man,  but  wanted  experience  :  he 
would  not  take  advice  of  the  Indians,  and  was  always 
driving  them  to  fight  according  to  his  own  notions.  For 

*  Letter  to  W.  Fairfax,  Aug.  llth,  1754. 


174  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

this  reason  he  (the  half-king)  had  carried  off  his  wife  and 
children  to  a  place  of  safety. 

After  a  time  the  chieftain  fell  dangerously  ill,  and  a 
conjurer  or  "  medicine  man"  was  summoned  to  inquire 
into  the  cause  or  nature  of  his  malady.  He  gave  it  as  his 
opinion  that  the  French  had  bewitched  him,  in  revenge 
for  the  great  blow  he  had  struck  them  in  the  affair  of 
Juinonville  ;  for  the  Indians  gave  him  the  whole  credit  of 
that  success,  he  having  sent  round  the  French  scalps  as 
trophies.  In  the  opinion  of  the  conjurer  all  the  friends 
of  the  chieftain  concurred,  and  on  his  death,  which  took 
place  shortly  afterwards,  there  was  great  lamentation, 
mingled  with  threats  of  immediate  vengeance.  The  fore 
going  particulars  are  gathered  from  a  letter  written  by 
John  Harris,  an  Indian  trader,  to  the  Governor  of  Penn 
sylvania,  at  the  request  of  the  half-king's  friend  and  fel 
low-sachem,  Monacatoocha,  otherwise  called  Scarooyadi. 
"I  humbly  presume,"  concludes  John  Harris,  "  that  his 
death  is  a  very  great  loss,  especially  at  this  critical 
time."* 

NOTE. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  in  tracing  the  affair  of  the  Great  Mead 
ows,  step  by  step,  guided  by  the  statements  of  Washington  himself  and 
of  one  of  his  officers,  present  in  the  engagement,  because  it  is  another  of 
the  events  in  the  early  stage  of  his  military  career,  before  the  justice  and 
magnanimity  of  his  character  were  sufficiently  established,  which  has 
been  subject  to  misrepresentation.  When  the  articles  of  capitulation 

*  Pennsylvania  Archives,  vol.  ii.  p.  178. 


STATEMENT  OF  DE    VILLIERS.  175 

came  to  be  correctly  translated  and  published,  there  were  passages  in 
them  derogatory  to  the  honor  of  Washington  and  his  troops,  and  which, 
it  would  seem,  had  purposely  been  inserted  for  their  humiliation  by  the 
French  commander  ;  but  which,  they  protested,  had  never  been  rightly 
translated  by  Van  Braam.  For  instance,  in  the  written  articles,  they 
were  made  to  stipulate  that  for  the  space  of  a  year,  they  would  not  work 
on  any  establishment  beyond  the  mountains  ;  whereas  it  had  been  trans 
lated  by  Van  Braam  "on  any  establishment  on  the  lands  of  the  Icing  of 
France,"  which  was  quite  another  thing,  as  most  of  the  land  beyond  the 
mountains  was  considered  by  them  as  belonging  to  the  British  crown. 
There  were  other  points,  of  minor  importance,  relative  to  the  disposition 
of  the  artillery  ;  but  the  most  startling  and  objectionable  one  was  that 
concerning  the  previous  skirmish  in  the  Great  Meadows.  This  was  men 
tioned  in  the  written  articles  as  Vassassinat  du  Sieur  de  Jumonville,  that 
is  to  say,  the  murder  of  De  Jumonville  :  an  expression  from  which 
Washington  and  his  officers  would  have  revolted  with  scorn  and  indig 
nation  ;  and  which,  if  truly  translated,  would  in  all  probability  have 
caused  the  capitulation  to  be  sent  back  instantly  to  the  French  com 
mander.  On  the  contrary,  they  declared  it  had  been  translated  to  them 
by  Van  Braam  the  death  of  De  Jumonville. 

M.  de  Villiers,  in  his  account  of  this  transaction  to  the  French  govern 
ment,  avails  himself  of  these  passages  in  the  capitulation  to  cast  a  slur  on 
the  conduct  of  Washington.  He  says,  "  We  made  the  English  consent  to 
sign  that  they  had  assassinated  my  brother  in  his  camp." — "We  caused 
them*  to  abandon  the  lands  belonging  to  the  king. — We  obliged  them  to 
leave  their  cannon,  which  consisted  of  nine  pieces,"  etc.  He  further  adds: 
"  The  English,  struck  with  panic,  took  to  flight,  and  left  their  flag  and 
one  of  their  colors."  We  have  shown  that  the  flag  left  was  the  unwieldy 
one  belonging  to  the  fort,  too  cumbrous  to  be  transported  by  troops  who 
could  not  carry  their  own  necessary  baggage.  The  regimental  colors,  as 
honorable  symbols,  were  scrupulously  carried  off  by  Washington,  and 
retained  by  him  in  after  years. 

M.  de  Villiers  adds  another  incident  intended  to  degrade  his  enemy. 
He  says,  "One  of  my  Indians  took  ten  Englishmen,  whom  he  brought  to 
me,  and  whom  I  sent  back  by  another."  These,  doubtless,  were  the  men 
detached  by  Washington  in  quest  of  the  wounded  loiterers ;  and  who, 
understanding  neither  French  nor  Indian,  found  a  difficulty  in  explaining 
their  peaceful  errand.  That  they  were  captured  by  the  Indian  seems  too 
much  of  a  gasconade. 

The  public  opinion  at  the  time  was  that  Van  Braam  had  been  suborned 


176  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

by  Be  Villiers  to  soften  the  offensive  articles  of  the  capitulation  in  trans 
lating  them,  so  that  they  should  not  wound  the  pride  nor  awaken  the 
scruples  of  Washington  and  his  officers,  yet  should  stand  on  record  against 
him.  It  is  not  probable  that  a  French  officer  of  De  Villiers'  rank  would 
practice  such  a  base  perfidy,  nor  does  the  subsequent  treatment,  experi 
enced  by  Van  Braam  from  the  French  corroborate  the  charge.  It  is  more 
than  probable  the  inaccuracy  of  translation  originated  in  his  ignorance  of 
the  precise  weight  and  value  of  words  in  the  two  languages,  neither  of 
which  was  native  to  him,  and  between  which  he  was  the  blundering  agent 
of  exchange. 


CHAPTEE  XITL 


BOUNDING  OF  FORT  CUMBERLAND.— SECRET  LETTER  OF  STOBO.— THE  INDIAN 
MESSENGER.— PROJECT  OF  DINWIDDIE.— HIS  PERPLEXITIES.— A  TAINT  Ot 
REPUBLICANISM  IN  THE  COLONIAL  ASSEMBLIES. — DINWIDDIE'S  MILITARY 
MEASURES. — WASHINGTON  QUITS  THE  SERVICE. — OVERTURES  OF  GOVERNOR 
SHARPE  OF  MARYLAND.— WASHINGTON'S  DIGNIFIED  REPLY.— QUESTIONS  OF 
RANK  BETWEEN  ROYAL  AND  PROVINCIAL  TROOPS.— TREATMENT  OF  THE 
FRENCH  PRISONERS.— FATE  OF  LA  FORCE.— ANECDOTES  OF  STOBO  AND  VAN 
BRAAM. 


AKLY  in  August  Washington  rejoined  his  regi 
ment,  which  had  arrived  at  Alexandria  by  the 
way  of  Winchester.  Letters  from  Governor 
Dinwiddie  urged  him  to  recruit  it  to  the  former  number 
of  three  hundred  men,  and  join  Colonel  Innes  at  Wills' 
Creek,  where  that  officer  was  stationed  with  Mackay's 
independent  company  of  South  Carolinians,  and  two  in 
dependent  companies  from  New  York;  and  had  been 
employed  in  erecting  a  work  to  serve  as  a  frontier  post 
and  rallying  point ;  which  work  received  the  name  of  Fort 
Cumberland,  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  cap 
tain-general  of  the  British  army. 

In  the   meantime  the  French,  elated  by  their  recent 
triumph,  and  thinking  no  danger  at  hand,  relaxed  their 
VOL.  i.— 12  177 


178  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

vigilance  at  Fort  Duquesne.  Stobo,  who  was  a  kind  o! 
prisoner  at  large  there,  found  means  to  send  a  letter 
secretly  by  an  Indian,  dated  July  28,  and  directed  to  the 
commander  of  the  English  troops.  It  was  accompanied 
by  a  plan  of  the  fort.  "There  are  two  hundred  men 
here,"  writes  he,  "  and  two  hundred  expected ;  the  rest 
have  gone  off  in  detachments  to  the  amount  of  one  thou 
sand,  besides  Indians.  None  lodge  in  the  fort  but  Con- 
trecoeur  and  the  guard,  consisting  of  forty  men  and  five 
officers  ;  the  rest  lodge  in  bark  cabins  around  the  fort. 
The  Indians  have  access  day  and  night,  and  come  and  go 
when  they  please.  If  one  hundred  trusty  Shawnees,  Min- 
goes,  and  Delawares  were  picked  out,  they  might  surprise 
the  fort,  lodging  themselves  under  the  palisades  by  day, 
and  at  night  secure  the  guard  with  their  tomahawks,  shut 
the  sally-gate,  and  the  fort  is  ours." 

One  part  of  Stobo's  letter  breathes  a  loyal  and  gener 
ous  spirit  of  self-devotion.  Alluding  to  the  danger  in 
which  he  and  Van  Braam,  his  fellow-hostage,  might  be 
involved,  he  says,  "  Consider  the  good  of  the  expedition 
without  regard  to  us.  When  we  engaged  to  serve  the 
country  it  was  expected  we  were  to  do  it  with  our  lives. 
For  my  part,  I  would  die  a  hundred  deaths  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  possessing  this  fort  but  one  day.  They  are 
so  vain  of  their  success  at  the  Meadows  it  is  worse  thai? 
death  to  hear  them.  Haste  to  strike."  * 

*  Hazard's  Register  of  Penn.  iv.  339. 


LETTER  OF  STOBO.  179 

The  Indian  messenger  carried  the  letter  to  AughquicK 
and  delivered  it  into  the  hands  of  George  Croghan.  The 
Indian  chiefs  who  were  with  him  insisted  upon  his  open 
ing  it.  He  did  so,  but  on  finding  the  tenor  of  it,  trans 
mitted  it  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania.  The  secret 
information  communicated  by  Stobo,  may  have  been  the 
cause  of  a  project  suddenly  conceived  by  Governor  Din- 
widdie,  of  a  detachment  which,  by  a  forced  march  across 
the  mountains,  might  descend  upon  the  French  and  take 
Fort  Duquesne  at  a  single  blow ;  or,  failing  that,  might 
build  a  rival  fort  in  its  vicinity.  He  accordingly  wrote 
to  Washington  to  march  forthwith  for  "Wills'  Creek,  with 
such  companies  as  were  complete,  leaving  orders  with 
the  officers  to  follow  as  soon  as  they  should  have  enlisted 
men  sufficient  to  make  up  their  companies.  "The  sea 
son  of  the  year,"  added  he,  "  calls  for  despatch.  I  de 
pend  upon  your  usual  diligence  and  spirit  to  encourage 
your  people  to  be  active  on  this  occasion." 

The  ignorance  of  Dinwiddie  in  military  affairs,  and 
his  want  of  forecast,  led  him  perpetually  into  blunders. 
Washington  saw  the  rashness  of  an  attempt  to  dispossess 
the  French  with  a  force  so  inferior  that  it  could  be  har 
assed  and  driven  from  place  to  place  at  their  pleasure. 
Before  the  troops  could  be  collected,  and  munitions  of 
war  provided,  the  season  would  be  too  far  advanced. 
There  would  be  no  forage  for  the  horses ;  the  streams 
would  be  swollen  and  unfordable ;  the  mountains  ren 
dered  impassable  by  snow,  and  frost,  and  slippery  roads. 


180  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  men,  too,  unused  to  campaigning  on  the  frontier, 
would  not  be  able  to  endure  a  winter  in  the  wilderness, 
with  no  better  shelter  than  a  tent;  especially  in  their 
present  condition,  destitute  of  almost  everything.  Such 
are  a  few  of  the  cogent  reasons  urged  by  Washington  in 
a  letter  to  his  friend  William  Fairfax,  then  in  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  which  no  doubt  was  shown  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie,  and  probably  had  an  effect  in  causing  the 
rash  project  to  be  abandoned. 

The  governor,  in  truth,  was  sorely  perplexed  abo-it  tlr's 
time  by  contradictions  and  cross-purposes,  both  in  mili 
tary  and  civil  affairs.  A  body  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
North  Carolinian  troops  had  been  enlisted  at  high  pay, 
and  were  to  form  the  chief  reinforcement  of  Colonel  Innes 
at  Wills'  Creek.  By  the  time  they  reached  Winchester, 
however,  the  provincial  military  chest  was  exhausted,  and 
future  pay  seemed  uncertain ;  whereupon  they  refused  to 
serve  any  longer,  disbanded  themselves  tumultuously,  and 
set  off  for  their  homes  without  taking  leave. 

The  governor  found  the  House  of  Burgesses  equally 
unmanageable.  His  demands  for  supplies  were  resisted 
on  what  he  considered  presumptuous  pretexts ;  or  granted 
sparingly,  under  mortifying  restrictions.  His  high  Tory 
notions  were  outraged  by  such  republican  conduct.  "  There 
appears  to  me,"  said  he,  "an  infatuation  in  all  the  assem 
blies  in  this  part  of  the  world."  In  a  letter  to  the  Board 
of  Trade  he  declared  that  the  only  way  effectually  to 
check  the  progress  of  the  French,  would  be  an  act  of 


WASHINGTON  QUITS  THE  SERVICE.  181 

parliament  requiring  the  colonies  to  contribute  to  the 
common  cause,  independently  of  assemblies  •  and  in  another, 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  he  urged  the  policy  of  compel 
ling  the  colonies  to  their  duty  to  the  king  by  a  general 
poll-tax  of  two  and  sixpence  a  head.  The  worthy  gov 
ernor  would  have  made  a  fitting  counselor  for  the  Stuart 
dynasty.  Subsequent  events  have  shown  how  little  his 
policy  was  suited  to  compete  with  the  dawning  repub 
licanism  of  America. 

In  the  month  of  October  the  House  of  Burgesses  made 
a  grant  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  for  the  public  service  ; 
and  ten  thousand  more  were  sent  out  from  England,  be 
side  a  supply  of  fire-arms.  The  governor  now  applied 
himself  to  military  matters  with  renewed  spirit ;  increased 
the  actual  force  to  ten  companies  ;  and,  as  there  had  been 
difficulties  among  the  different  kinds  of  troops  with  regard 
to  precedence,  he  reduced  them  all  to  independent  com 
panies  ;  so  that  there  would  be  no  officer  in  a  Virginia 
regiment  above  the  rank  of  captain. 

This  shrewd  measure,  upon  which  Dinwiddie  secretly 
prided  himself  as  calculated  to  put  an  end  to  the  difficul 
ties  in  question,  immediately  drove  Washington  out  of 
the  service ;  considering  it  derogatory  to  his  character  to 
accept  a  lower  commission  than  that  under  which  his 
conduct  had  gained  him  a  vote  of  thanks  from  the  Legis 
lature. 

Governor  Sharpe  of  Maryland,  appointed  by  the  king 
Commander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces  engaged  against  the 


182  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

French,  sought  to  secure  his  valuable  services,  and  au* 
thorized  Colonel  Fitzhugh,  whom  he  had  placed  in  tem 
porary  command  of  the  army,  to  write  to  him  to  that 
effect.  The  reply  of  Washington  (15th  Nov.)  is  full  of 
dignity  and  spirit,  and  shows  how  deeply  he  felt  his  mili 
tary  degradation. 

"  You  make  mention,"  says  he,  "  of  my  continuing  in 
the  service  and  retaining  my  colonel's  commission.  This 
idea  has  filled  me  with  surprise ;  for  if  you  think  me 
capable  of  holding  a  commission  that  has  neither  rank 
nor  emolument  annexed  to  it,  you  must  maintain  a  very 
contemptible  opinion  of  my  weakness,  and  believe  me 
more  empty  than  the  commission  itself."  After  intimat 
ing  a  suspicion  that  the  project  of  reducing  the  regiment 
into  independent  companies,  and  thereby  throwing  out 
the  higher  officers,  was  "  generated  and  hatched  at  Wills' 
Creek," — in  other  words,  was  an  expedient  of  Governor 
Dinwiddie,  instead  of  being  a  peremptory  order  from 
England,  he  adds,  "  Ingenuous  treatment  and  plain  deal 
ing  I  at  least  expected.  It  is  to  be  hoped  the  project 
will  answer ;  it  shall  meet  with  my  acquiescence  in  every 
thing  except  personal  services.  I  herewith  inclose  Gov 
ernor  Sharpe's  letter,  which  I  beg  you  will  return  to  him 
with  my  acknowledgments  for  the  favor  he  intended  me. 
Assure  him,  sir,  as  you  truly  may,  of  my  reluctance  to 
quit  the  service,  and  the  pleasure  I  should  have  received 
in  attending  his  fortunes.  Inform  him,  also,  that  it  was 
to  obey  the  call  of  honor  and  the  advice  of  my  friends' 


RANK  OF  OFFICERS.  183 

that  I  declined  it,  and  not  to  gratify  any  desire  I  had  to 
leave  the  military  line.     My  feelings  are  strongly  bent  to 


arms." 


Even  had  Washington  hesitated  to  take  this  step,  it 
would  have  been  forced  upon  him  by  a  further  regulation 
of  government,  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  winter,  set 
tling  the  rank  of  officers  of  His  Majesty's  forces  when 
ioined  or  serving  with  the  provincial  forces  in  North 
America,  "  which  directed  that  all  such  as  were  commis 
sioned  by  the  king,  or  by  his  general  commander-in-chief 
in  North  America,  should  take  rank  of  all  officers  com 
missioned  by  the  governors  of  the  respective  provinces. 
And  further,  that  the  general  and  field  officers  of  the  pro 
vincial  troops  should  have  no  rank  when  serving  with 
the  general  and  field  officers  commissioned  by  the  crown ; 
but  that  all  captains  and  other  inferior  officers  of  the 
royal  troops  should  take  rank  over  provincial  officers  of 
the  same  grade,  having  older  commissions." 

These  regulations,  originating  in  that  supercilious  as 
sumption  of  superiority  which  sometimes  overruns  and 
degrades  true  British  pride,  would  have  been  spurned  by 
Washington,  as  insulting  to  the  character  and  conduct  of 
his  high-minded  brethren  of  the  colonies.  How  much 
did  this  open  disparagement  of  colonial  honor  and  under 
standing,  contribute  to  wean  from  England  the  affection 
of  her  American  subjects,  and  prepare  the  way  for  their 
ultimate  assertion  of  independence. 

Another  cause  of  vexation  to  Washington  was  the  re- 


184  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

fusal  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  give  up  the  French  pris 
oners,  taken  in  the  affair  of  De  Jumonville,  in  fulfillment 
of  the  articles  of  capitulation.  His  plea  was,  that,  since 
the  capitulation,  the  French  had  taken  several  British 
subjects,  and  sent  them  prisoners  to  Canada,  he  consid 
ered  himself  justifiable  in  detaining  those  Frenchmen 
which  he  had  in  his  custody.  He  sent  a  flag  of  truce,, 
however,  offering  to  return  the  officer  Drouillon,  and  the 
two  cadets,  in  exchange  for  Captains  Stobo  and  Yan 
Braam,  whom  the  French  held  as  hostages ;  but  his  offer 
was  treated  with  merited  disregard.  Washington  felt 
deeply  mortified  by  this  obtuseness  of  the  governor  on  a 
point  of  military  punctilio  and  honorable  faith,  but  his 
remonstrances  were  unavailing. 

The  French  prisoners  were  clothed  and  maintained  at 
the  public  expense,  and  Drouillon  and  the  cadets  were 
allowed  to  go  at  large  ;  the  private  soldiers  were  kept  in 
confinement.  La  Force,  also,  not  having  acted  in  a  mili 
tary  capacity,  and  having  offended  against  the  peace  and 
security  of  the  frontier,  by  his  intrigues  among  the  In 
dians,  was  kept  in  close  durance.  Washington,  who 
knew  nothing  of  this,  was  shocked  on  visiting  Williams- 
burg  to  learn  that  La  Force  was  in  prison.  He  expos 
tulated  with  the  governor  on  the  subject,  but  without 
effect ;  Dinwiddie  was  at  all  times  pertinacious,  but  par 
ticularly  so  when  he  felt  himself  to  be  a  little  in  the 
wrong. 

As  we  shall  have  no  further  occasion  to  mention  La 


ADVENTURE  OF  LA  FORCE.  185 

Force,  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  this  work,  we 
will  anticipate  a  page  of  his  fortunes.  After  remaining 
two  years  in  confinement  he  succeeded  in  breaking  out 
of  prison,  and  escaping  into  the  country.  An  alarm  was 
given,  and  circulated  far  and  wide,  for  such  was  the 
opinion  of  his  personal  strength,  desperate  courage,  wily 
cunning,  and  great  influence  over  the  Indians,  that  the 
most  mischievous  results  were  apprehended  should  he 
regain  the  frontier.  In  the  meantime  he  was  wandering 
about  the  country,  ignorant  of  the  roads,  and  fearing  to 
make  inquiries,  lest  his  foreign  tongue  should  betray 
him.  He  reached  King  and  Queen  Court  House,  about 
thirty  miles  from  Williamsburg,  when  a  countryman  was 
struck  with  his  foreign  air  and  aspect.  La  Force  ven 
tured  to  put  a  question  as  to  the  distance  and  direction 
of  Fort  Duquesne,  and  his  broken  English  convinced  the 
countryman  of  his  being  the  French  prisoner,  whose 
escape  had  been  noised  about  the  country.  Watching 
an  opportunity  he  seized  him,  and  regardless  of  offers 
of  great  bribes,  conducted  him  back  to  the  prison  of 
Williamsburg,  where  he  was  secured  with  double  irons, 
and  chained  to  the  floor  of  his  dungeon. 

The  refusal  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  fulfill  the  arti 
cle  of  the  capitulation  respecting  the  prisoners,  and  the 
rigorous  treatment  of  La  Force,  operated  hardly  upon 
the  hostages,  Stobo  and  Van  Braam,  who,  in  retaliation, 
were  confined  in  prison  in  Quebec,  though  otherwise 
treated  with  kindness.  They,  also,  by  extraordinary  et 


186  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

forts,  succeeded  in  breaking  prison,  but  found  it,  more 
difficult  to  evade  the  sentries  of  a  fortified  place.  Stobo 
managed  to  escape  into  the  country ;  but  the  luckless 
Van  Braam  sought  concealment  under  an  arch  of  a  cause 
way  leading  from  the  fortress.  Here  he  remained  until 
nearly  exhausted  by  hunger.  Seeing  the  Governor  of 
Canada  passing  by,  and  despairing  of  being  able  to  effect 
his  escape,  he  came  forth  from  his  hiding-place,  and  sur 
rendered  himself,  invoking  his  clemency.  He  was  re 
manded  to  prison,  but  experienced  no  additional  se 
verity.  He  was  subsequently  shipped  by  the  governor 
from  Quebec  to  England,  and  never  returned  to  Virginia. 
It  is  this  treatment  of  Van  Braam,  more  than  anything 
else,  which  convinces  us  that  the  suspicion  of  his  being 
in  collusion  with  the  French  in  regard  to  the  misinter 
pretation  of  the  articles  of  capitulation,  was  groundless. 
He  was  simply  a  blunderer. 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 


TO  QUIET  LIFE.— FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  PREPARE  FOR  HOSTILITIES. 
— PLAN  OF  A  CAMPAIGN. — GENERAL  BRADDOCK. — HIS  CHARACTER. — SIK 
JOHN  ST.  CLAIR,  QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL. — HIS  TOUR  OF  INSPECTION. 
— PROJECTED  ROADS. — ARRIVAL  OF  BRADDOCK. — MILITARY  CONSULTATIONS 
AND  PLANS.— COMMODORE  KEPPEL  AND  HIS  SEAMEN.— SHIPS  AND  TROOPS 
AT  ALEXANDRIA. — EXCITEMENT  OF  WASHINGTON. — INVITED  TO  JOIN  THE 
STAFF  OF  BRADDOCK. — A  MOTHER'S  OBJECTIONS. — WASHINGTON  AT  ALEX 
ANDRIA. —  GRAND  COUNCIL  OF  GOVERNORS. —  MILITARY  ARRANGEMENTS. 
— COLONEL  WILLIAM  JOHNSON. — SIR  JOHN  ST.  CLAIR  AT  FORT  CUMBER 
LAND.— HIS  EXPLOSIONS  OF  WRATH.— THEIR  EFFECTS.— INDIANS  TO  BE  EN 
LISTED. — CAPTAIN  JACK  AND  HIS  BAND  OF  BUSH-BEATERS. 


AVING  resigned  his  commission,  and  disen 
gaged  himself  from  public  affairs,  Washington's 
first  care  was  to  visit  his  mother,  inquire  into 
the  state  of  domestic  concerns,  and  attend  to  the  welfare 
of  his  brothers  and  sisters.  In  these  matters  he  was 
ever  his  mother's  adjunct  and  counselor,  discharging 
faithfully  the  duties  of  an  eldest  son,  who  should  con 
sider  himself  a  second  father  to  the  family. 

He  now  took  up  his  abode  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  pre 
pared  to  engage  in  those  agricultural  pursuits,  for  which, 
even  in  his  youthful  days,  he  had  as  keen  a  relish  as  for 
the  profession  of  arms.  Scarcely  had  he  entered  upon, 

187 


188  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

his  rural  occupations,  however,  when  the  service  of  his 
country  once  more  called  him  to  the  field. 

The  disastrous  affair  at  the  Great  Meadows,  and  the 
other  acts  of  French  hostility  on  the  Ohio,  had  roused 
the  attention  of  the  British  ministry.  Their  ambassador 
at  Paris  was  instructed  to  complain  of  those  violations  of 
the  peace.  The  court  of  Versailles  amused  him  with 
general  assurances  of  amity,  and  a  strict  adherence  to 
treaties.  Their  ambassador  at  the  court  of  St.  James, 
the  Marquis  de  Mirepoix,  on  the  faith  of  his  instructions, 
gave  the  same  assurances.  In  the  meantime,  however, 
French  ships  were  fitted  out,  and  troops  embarked,  to 
carry  out  the  schemes  of  the  government  in  America. 
So  profound  was  the  dissimulation  of  the  court  of  Ver 
sailles,  that  even  their  own  ambassador  is  said  to  have 
been  kept  in  ignorance  of  their  real  designs,  and  of  the 
hostile  game  they  were  playing,  while  he  was  exerting 
himself  in  good  faith  to  lull  the  suspicions  of  England, 
and  maintain  the  international  peace.  When  his  eyes, 
however,  were  opened,  he  returned  indignantly  to  France, 
and  upbraided  the  cabinet  with  the  duplicity  of  which  he 
had  been  made  the  unconscious  instrument. 

The  British  government  now  prepared  for  military 
operations  in  America ;  none  of  them  professedly  aggres 
sive,  but  rather  to  resist  and  counteract  aggressions.  A 
plan  of  campaign  was  devised  for  1755,  having  four  objects. 

To  eject  the  French  from  lands  which  they  held  un 
justly,  in  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia. 


QUALIFICATIONS  OF  SHADDOCK  189 

To  dislodge  them  from  a  fortress  which  they  had 
erected  at  Crown  Point,  on  Lake  Champlain,  within  what 
was  claimed  as  British  territory. 

To  dispossess  them  of  the  fort  which  they  had  con 
structed  at  Niagara,  between  Lake  Ontario  and  Lake 
Erie. 

To  drive  them  from  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  and  recover  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  captain-general  of  the  British 
army,  had  the  organization  of  this  campaign ;  and  through 
his  patronage  Major-general  Edward  Braddock  was  in 
trusted  with  the  execution  of  it,  being  appointed  general 
issimo  of  all  the  forces  in  the  colonies. 

Braddock  was  a  veteran  in  service,  and  had  been  up 
wards  of  forty  years  in  the  Guards,  that  school  of  exact 
discipline  and  technical  punctilio.  Cumberland,  who  held 
a  commission  in  the  Guards,  and  was  bigoted  to  its  rou 
tine,  may  have  considered  Braddock  fitted,  by  his  skill 
and  preciseness  as  a  tactician,  for  a  command  in  a  new 
country,  inexperienced  in  military  science,  to  bring  its 
raw  levies  into  order,  and  to  settle  those  questions  of 
rank  and  etiquette  apt  to  arise  where  regular  and  provin 
cial  troops  are  to  act  together. 

The  result  proved  the  error  of  such  an  opinion.  Brad- 
dock  was  a  brave  and  experienced  oflicer  ;  but  his  expe 
rience  was  that  of  routine,  and  rendered  him  pragmatical 
and  obstinate,  impatient  of  novel  expedients  "not  laid 
down  in  the  books,"  but  dictated  by  emergencies  in  9 


190  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

"new  country,"  and  his  military  precision,  which  would 
have  been  brilliant  on  parade,  was  a  constant  obstacle  to 
alert  action  in  the  wilderness.* 

Braddock  was  to  lead  in  person  the  grand  enterprise 
of  the  campaign,  that  destined  for  the  frontiers  of  Vir 
ginia  and  Pennsylvania ;  it  was  the  enterprise  in  which 
"Washington  became  enlisted,  and,  therefore,  claims  our 
especial  attention. 

Prior  to  the  arrival  of  Braddock,  came  out  from  Eng 
land  Lieutenant-colonel  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  deputy  quar 
termaster-general,  eager  to  make  himself  acquainted  with 
the  field  of  operations.  He  made  a  tour  of  inspection, 
in  company  with  Governor  Sharpe,  of  Maryland,  and  ap 
pears  to  have  been  dismayed  at  sight  of  the  impracticable 
wilderness,  the  region  of  Washington's  campaign.  From 

*  Horace  Walpole,  in  his  letters,  relates  some  anecdotes  of  Braddock, 
which  give  a  familiar  picture  of  him  in  the  fashionable  life  in  which  he 
had  mingled  in  London,  and  are  of  value,  as  letting  us  into  the  private 
character  of  a  man  whose  name  has  become  proverbial  in  American  his 
tory.  "  Braddock,"  says  Walpole,  "is  a  very  Iroquois  in  disposition.  He 
had  a  sister,  who,  having  gamed  away  all  her  little  fortune  at  Bath, 
hanged  herself  with  a  truly  English  deliberation,  leaving  a  note  on  the 
table  with  these  lines:  'To  die  is  landing  on  some  silent  shore,'  etc. 
When  Braddock  was  told  of  it,  he  only  said  :  '  Poor  Fanny  !  I  always 
thought  she  would  play  till  she  would  be  forced  to  tuck  herself  up.'" 

Braddock  himself  had  been  somewhat  of  a  spendthrift.  He  was  touchy 
also,  and  punctilious.  "He  once  had  a  duel,"  says  Walpole,  "  with  Col 
onel  Glumley,  Lady  Bath's  brother,  who  had  been  his  great  friend.  As 
they  were  going  to  engage,  Glumley,  who  had  good  humor  and  wit  (Brad- 
dock  had  the  latter)  said  :  '  Braddock,  you  are  a  poor  dog  !  here,  take  my 
purse  ;  if  you  kill  me  you  will  be  forced  to  run  away,  and  then  you  will 
not  have  a  shilling  to  support  you.'  Braddock  refused  the  purse,  insisted 
on  the  duel,  was  disarmed,  and  would  not  even  ask  for  his  life." 


CROGHAN  %8  NEW  COMMISSION.  191 

Fort  Cumberland,  lie  wrote  in  February  to  Governor 
Morris,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  have  the  road  cut,  or  repaired, 
toward  the  head  of  the  river  Youghiogheny,  and  another 
opened  from  Philadelphia  for  the  transportation  of  sup 
plies.  "No  general,"  writes  he,  "will  advance  with  an 
army  without  having  a  communication  open  to  the  prov 
inces  in  his  rear,  both  for  the  security  of  retreat,  and  to 
facilitate  the  transport  of  provisions,  the  supplying  of 
which  must  greatly  depend  on  your  province." 

Unfortunately  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  had  no 
money  at  his  command,  and  was  obliged,  for  expenses,  to 
apply  to  his  Assembly,  "  a  set  of  men,"  writes  he,  "  quite 
unacquainted  with  every  kind  of  military  service,  and 
exceedingly  unwilling  to  part  with  money  on  any  terms." 
However,  by  dint  of  exertions,  he  procured  the  appoint 
ment  of  commissioners  to  explore  the  country,  and  sur 
vey  and  lay  out  the  roads  required.  At  the  head  of  the 
commission  was  George  Croghan,  the  Indian  trader, 
whose  mission  to  the  Twightwees  we  have  already  spoken 
of.  Times  had  gone  hard  with  Croghan.  The  French 
had  seized  great  quantities  of  his  goods.  The  Indians, 
with  whom  he  traded,  had  failed  to  pay  their  debts,  and 
he  had  become  a  bankrupt.  Being  an  efficient  agent  on 
the  frontier,  and  among  the  Indians,  he  still  enjoyed  the 
patronage  of  the  Pennsylvania  government. 

When  Sir  John  St.  Clair  had  finished  his  tour  of  in- 

*  Colonial  Records,  vi.  300. 


192  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

spection,  he  descended  Wills'  Creek  and  the  Potomac  foi 
two  hundred  miles  in  a  canoe  to  Alexandria,  and  repaired 
to  Virginia  to  meet  General  Braddock.  The  latter  had 
landed  on  the  20th  of  February  at  Hampton,  in  Virginia, 
and  proceeded  to  Williainsburg  to  consult  with  Governor 
Dinwiddie.  Shortly  afterwards  he  was  joined  there  by 
Commodore  Keppel,  whose  squadron  of  two  ships  of  war, 
and  several  transports,  had  anchored  in  the  Chesapeake. 
On  board  of  these  ships  were  two  prime  regiments  of 
about  five  hundred  men  each ;  one  commanded  by  Sir 
Peter  Halket,  the  other  by  Colonel  Dunbar;  together 
with  a  train  of  artillery,  and  the  necessary  munitions  of 
war.  The  regiments  were  to  be  augmented  to  seven 
hundred  men  each,  by  men  selected  by  Sir  John  St. 
Clair  from  Virginia  companies  recently  raised. 

Alexandria  was  fixed  upon  as  the  place  where  the 
troops  should  disembark,  and  encamp.  The  ships  were 
accordingly  ordered  up  to  that  place,  and  the  levies  di 
rected  to  repair  thither. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  included  the  use  of  Indian 
allies.  Governor  Dinwiddie  had  already  sent  Christo 
pher  Gist,  the  pioneer,  Washington's  guide  in  1753,  to 
ongage  the  Cherokees  and  Catawbas,  the  bravest  of  the 
Southern  tribes,  who  he  had  no  doubt  would  take  up 
the  hatchet  for  the  English,  peace  being  first  concluded, 
through  the  mediation  of  his  government,  between  them 
and  the  Six  Nations;  and  he  gave  Braddock  reason  to 
expect  at  least  four  hundred  Indians,  to  join  him  at  Fort 


KEPPEL  AND  HIS  SEAMEN.  193 

Cumberland.  He  laid  before  him  also  contracts  that  he 
had  made  for  cattle,  and  promises  that  the  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania  had  made  of  flour ;  these,  with  other  sup 
plies,  and  a  thousand  barrels  of  beef  on  board  of  the 
transports,  would  furnish  six  months'  provisions  for  four 
thousand  men. 

General  Braddock  apprehended  difficulty  in  procuring 
wagons  and  horses  sufficient  to  attend  him  in  his  march. 
Sir  John  St.  Glair,  in  the  course  of  his  tour  of  inspection, 
had  met  with  two  Dutch  settlers,  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  who  engaged  to  furnish  two  hundred  wagons,  and 
fifteen  hundred  carrying  horses,  to  be  at  Fort  Cumber 
land  early  in  May. 

Governor  Sharpe  was  to  furnish  above  a  hundred 
wagons  for  the  transportation  of  stores,  on  the  Maryland 
side  of  the  Potomac. 

Keppel  furnished  four  cannons  from  his  ships,  for  the 
attack  on  Fort  Duquesne,  and  thirty  picked  seamen  to 
assist  in  dragging  them  over  the  mountains ;  for  "  sol 
diers,"  said  he,  "  cannot  be  as  well  acquainted  with  the 
nature  of  purchases,  and  making  use  of  tackles,  as  sea 
men."  They  were  to  aid  also  in  passing  the  troops  and 
artillery  on  floats  or  in  boats,  across  the  rivers,  and  were 
under  the  command  of  a  midshipman  and  lieutenant.* 

"  Everything,"  writes  Captain  Robert  Orme,  one  of  the 
general's  aides-de-camp,  "  seemed  to  promise  so  far  the 


*  Keppel's  Life  of  Keppel,  p.  205. 

TOL.  I.— -13 


194  LWE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

greatest  success.  The  transports  were  all  arrived  safe, 
and  the  men  in  health.  Provisions,  Indians,  carriages, 
and  horses,  were  already  provided ;  at  least  were  to  be 
esteemed  so,  considering  the  authorities  on  which  they 
were  promised  to  the  general." 

Trusting  to  these  arrangements,  Braddock  proceeded 
to  Alexandria.  The  troops  had  all  been  disembarked 
before  his  arrival,  and  the  Virginia  levies  selected  by  Sir 
John  St.  Clair,  to  join  the  regiments  of  regulars,  were 
arrived.  There  were  beside  two  companies  of  hatchet 
men,  or  carpenters ;  six  of  rangers ;  and  one  troop  of 
light  horse.  The  levies  having  been  clothed,  were 
ordered  to  march  immediately  for  Winchester,  to  be 
armed,  and  the  general  gave  them  in  charge  of  an  ensign 
of  the  44th,  "  to  make  them  as  like  soldiers  as  possible."  * 
The  light  horse  were  retained  by  the  general  as  his 
escort  and  body-guard. 

The  din  and  stir  of  warlike  preparation  disturbed  the 
quiet  of  Mount  Vernon.  Washington  looked  down  from 
his  rural  retreat  upon  the  ships  of  war  and  transports, 
as  they  passed  up  the  Potomac,  with  the  array  of  arms 
gleaming  along  their  decks.  The  booming  of  cannon 
echoed  among  his  groves.  Alexandria  was  but  a  few 
miles  distant.  Occasionally  he  mounted  his  horse,  and 
rode  to  that  place  ;  it  was  like  a  garrisoned  town,  teem 
ing  with  troops,  and  resounding  with  the  drum  and  fife. 

*  Orme's  Journal. 


EXCITEMENT  OF  WASHINGTON.  195 

A  brilliant  campaign  was  about  to  open  under  the  aus 
pices  of  an  experienced  general,  and  with  all  the  means 
and  appurtenances  of  European  warfare.  How  different 
from  the  starveling  expeditions  he  had  hitherto  been 
doomed  to  conduct !  What  an  opportunity  to  efface  the 
memory  of  his  recent  disaster  !  All  his  thoughts  of  rural 
life  were  put  to  flight.  The  military  part  of  his  charac 
ter  was  again  in  the  ascendant ;  his  great  desire  was  to 
join  the  expedition  as  a  volunteer. 

It  was  reported  to  General  Braddock.  The  latter  was 
apprised  by  Governor  Dinwiddie  and  others,  of  Wash 
ington's  personal  merits,  his  knowledge  of  the  country, 
and  his  experience  in  frontier  service.  The  consequence 
was,  a  letter  from  Captain  Robert  Orme,  one  of  Brad- 
dock's  aides-de-camp,  written  by  the  general's  order,  in 
viting  Washington  to  join  his  staff ;  the  letter  concluded 
with  frank  and  cordial  expressions  of  esteem  on  the  part 
of  Orme,  which  were  warmly  reciprocated,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  soldierlike  friendship  between  them. 

A  volunteer  situation  on  the  staff  of  General  Braddock 
offered  no  emolument  nor  command,  and  would  be  at 
tended  with  considerable  expense,  beside  a  sacrifice  of  his 
private  interests,  having  no  person  in  whom  he  had  con 
fidence,  to  take  charge  of  his  affairs  in  his  absence  ;  still 
he  did  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  accept  the  invitation. 
In  the  position  offered  to  him,  all  the  questions  of  mili 
tary  rank  which  had  hitherto  annoyed  him,  would  be 
obviated.  He  could  indulge  his  passion  for  arms  without 


196  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

any  sacrifice  of  dignity,  and  he  looked  forward  with  high 
anticipation  to  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  military  ex* 
perience  in  a  corps  well  organized,  and  thoroughly  dis« 
ciplined,  and  in  the  family  of  a  commander  of  acknowl 
edged  skill  as  a  tactician. 

His  mother  heard  with  concern  of  another  projected 
expedition  into  the  wilderness.  Hurrying  to  Mount  Ver- 
non,  she  entreated  him  not  again  to  expose  himself  to  the 
hardships  and  perils  of  these  frontier  campaigns.  She 
doubtless  felt  the  value  of  his  presence  at  home,  to  man 
age  and  protect  the  complicated  interests  of  the  domestic 
connection,  and  had  watched  with  solicitude  over  his  ad 
venturous  campaigning,  where  so  much  family  welfare 
was  at  hazard.  However  much  a  mother's  pride  may 
have  been  gratified  by  his  early  advancement  and  renown, 
she  had  rejoiced  on  his  return  to  the  safer  walks  of  peace 
ful  life.  She  was  thoroughly  practical  and  prosaic  in  her 
notions,  and  was  not  to  be  dazzled  by  military  glory.  The 
passion  for  arms  which  mingled  with  the  more  sober  ele 
ments  of  Washington's  character,  would  seem  to  have 
been  inherited  from  his  father's  side  of  the  house ;  it  was, 
in  fact,  the  old  chivalrous  spirit  of  the  De  Wessyngtons. 

His  mother  had  once  prevented  him  from  entering  the 
navy,  when  a  gallant  frigate  was  at  hand,  anchored  in  the 
waters  of  the  Potomac;  with  all  his  deference  for  her, 
which  he  retained  through  life,  he  could  not  resist  the 
appeal  to  his  martial  sympathies,  which  called  him  to  the 
head-quarters  of  General  Braddock  at  Alexandria. 


OR  AND  COUNCIL  OF  GOVERNORS.  197 

His  arrival  was  hailed  by  his  young  associates,  Cap 
tains  Orme  and  Morris,  the  general's  aides-de-camp,  who 
at  once  received  him  into  frank  companionship,  and  a 
cordial  intimacy  commenced  between  them,  that  con 
tinued  throughout  the  campaign. 

He  experienced  a  courteous  reception  from  the  general, 
who  expressed  in  flattering  terms  the  impression  he  had 
received  of  his  merits.  Washington  soon  appreciated  the 
character  of  the  general.  He  found  him  stately  and  some 
what  haughty,  exact  in  matters  of  military  etiquette  and 
discipline,  positive  in  giving  an  opinion,  and  obstinate  in 
maintaining  it;  but  of  an  honorable  and  generous,  though 
somewhat  irritable  nature. 

There  were  at  that  time  four  governors,  beside  Dinwid- 
die,  assembled  at  Alexandria,  at  Braddock's  request,  to 
concert  a  plan  of  military  operations — Governor  Shirley 
of  Massachusetts,  Lieutenant-governor  Delancey  of  New 
York,  Lieutenant-governor  Sharpe  of  Maryland,  Lieuten 
ant-governor  Morris  of  Pennsylvania.  Washington  was 
presented  to  them  in  a  manner  that  showed  how  well  his 
merits  were  already  appreciated.  Shirley  seems  particu 
larly  to  have  struck  him  as  the  model  of  a  gentleman  and 
statesman.  He  was  originally  a  lawyer,  and  had  risen  not 
more  by  his  talents,  than  by  his  implicit  devotion  to  the 
crown.  His  son  William  was  military  secretary  to  Brad- 
dock. 

A  grand  council  was  held  on  the  14th  of  April,  com 
posed  of  General  Braddock,  Commodore  Keppel,  and  the 


198  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

governors,  at  which  the  general's  commission  was  read, 
as  were  his  instructions  from  the  king,  relating  to  a  com 
mon  fund,  to  be  established  by  the  several  colonies,  to= 
ward  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  campaign. 

The  governors  were  prepared  to  answer  on  this  head, 
letters  to  the  same  purport  having  been  addressed  to 
them  by  Sir  Thomas  Robinson,  one  of  the  king's  secre 
taries  of  state,  in  the  preceding  month  of  October.  They 
informed  Braddock  that  they  had  applied  to  their  respec 
tive  Assemblies  for  the  establishment  of  such  a  fund,  but 
in  vain,  and  gave  it  as  their  unanimous  opinion,  that  such 
a  fund  could  never  be  established  in  the  colonies  without 
the  aid  of  Parliament.  They  had  found  it  impracticable, 
also,  to  obtain  from  their  respective  governments  the  pro 
portions  expected  from  them  by  the  crown  toward  mili 
tary  expenses  in  America;  and  suggested  that  ministers 
should  find  out  some  mode  of  compelling  them  to  do  it ; 
and  that,  in  the  meantime,  the  general  should  make  use 
of  his  credit  upon  government,  for  current  expenses,  lest 
the  expedition  should  come  to  a  stand.* 

In  discussing  the  campaign,  the  governors  were  of 
opinion  that  New  York  should  be  made  the  centre  of 
operations,  as  it  afforded  easy  access  by  water  to  the 
heart  of  the  French  possessions  in  Canada.  Braddock, 
however,  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  depart  from  his  in 
structions,  which  specified  the  recent  establishments  ol 

*  Colonial  Records,  vol.  vi.  p.  36C. 


MILITARY  ARRANGEMENTS.  199 

the  French  on  the  Ohio  as  the  objects  of  his  expedi 
tion. 

Niagara  and  Crown  Point  were  to  be  attacked  about 
the  same  time  with  Fort  Duquesne,  the  former  by  Gov 
ernor  Shirley,  with  his  own  and  Sir  "William  Pepperell's 
regiments,  and  some  New  York  companies ;  the  latter  by 
Colonel  William  Johnson,  sole  manager  and  director  of 
Indian  affairs  ;  a  personage  worthy  of  especial  note. 

He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  had  come  out  to  this 
country  in  1734,  to  manage  the  landed  estates  owned  by 
his  uncle,  Commodore  Sir  Peter  Warren,  in  the  Mohawk 
country.  He  had  resided  ever  since  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Mohawk  River,  in  the  province  of  New  York.  By  his 
agency,  and  his  dealings  with  the  native  tribes,  he  had 
acquired  great  wealth,  and  become  a  kind  of  potentate  in 
the  Indian  country.  His  influence  over  the  Six  Nations 
was  said  to  be  unbounded ;  and  it  was  principally  with 
the  aid  of  a  large  force  of  their  warriors  that  it  was  ex 
pected  he  would  accomplish  his  part  of  the  campaign. 
The  end  of  June,  "  nearly  in  July,"  was  fixed  upon  as  the 
time  when  the  several  attacks  upon  Forts  Duquesne,  Ni 
agara,  and  Crown  Point  should  be  carried  into  execu 
tion  ;  and  Braddock  anticipated  an  easy  accomplishment 
of  his  plans. 

The  expulsion  of  the  French  from  the  lands  wrongfully 
held  by  them  in  Nova  Scotia,  was  to  be  assigned  to  Colo 
nel  Lawrence,  lieutenant-governor  of  that  province ;  we 
will  briefly  add,  in  anticipation,  that  it  was  effected  bj 


200  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

him,  with  the  aid  of  troops  from  Massachusetts  and  else* 
where,  led  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Monckton. 

The  business  of  the  Congress  being  finished,  General 
Braddock  would  have  set  out  for  Fredericktown,  in  Mary* 
land,  but  lew  wagons  or  teams  had  yet  come  to  remove 
the  artillery.  Washington  had  looked  with  wonder  and 
dismay  at  the  huge  paraphernalia  of  war,  and  the  world 
of  superfluities  to  be  transported  across  the  mountains, 
recollecting  the  difficulties  he  had  experienced  in  getting 
over  them  with  his  nine  swivels,  and  scanty  supplies. 
"  If  our  march  is  to  be  regulated  by  the  slow  movements 
of  the  train,"  said  he,  "  it  will  be  tedious,  very  tedious, 
indeed." 

His  predictions  excited  a  sarcastic  smile  in  Braddock, 
as  betraying  the  limited  notions  of  a  young  provincial 
officer,  little  acquainted  with  the  march  of  armies. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Sir  John  St.  Glair,  who  had  re 
turned  to  the  frontier,  was  storming  at  the  camp  at  Fort 
Cumberland.  The  road  required  of  the  Pennsylvania 
government  had  not  been  commenced.  George  Croghan 
and  the  other  commissioners  were  but  just  arrived  in 
camp.  Sir  John,  according  to  Croghan,  received  them 
in  a  very  disagreeable  manner :  would  not  look  at  their 
draughts,  nor  suffer  any  representations  to  be  made  to 
him  in  regard  to  the  province,  "  but  stormed  like  a  lion 
rampant ; "  declaring  that  the  want  of  the  road  and  of  the 
provisions  promised  by  Pennsylvania  had  retarded  the 
expedition,  and  might  cost  them  their  lives  from  the 


A  DISPLAY  OF  TEMPER.  201 

fresh  numbers  of  French  that  might  be  poured  into  the 
country. — "  That  instead  of  marching  to  the  Ohio,  he 
would  in  nine  days  march  his  army  into  Cumberland 
County  to  cut  the  roads,  press  horses,  wagons,  etc.-— 
That  he  would  not  suffer  a  soldier  to  handle  an  axe,  but 

by  fire  and  sword  oblige  the  inhabitants  to  do  it 

That  he  would  kill  all  kinds  of  cattle,  and  carry  away  the 
horses,  burn  the  houses,  etc. ;  and  that  if  the  French 
defeated  them,  by  the  delays  of  Pennsylvania,  he  would, 
with  his  sword  drawn,  pass  through  the  province  and 
treat  the  inhabitants  as  a  parcel  of  traitors  to  his  master. 
That  he  would  write  to  England  by  a  man-of-war ;  shake 
Mr.  Penn's  proprietaryship,  and  represent  Pennsylvania 

as  a  disaffected  province He  told  us  to  go  to 

the  general,  if  we  pleased,  who  would  give  us  ten  bad 
words  for  one  that  he  had  given.9* 

The  explosive  wrath  of  Sir  John,  which  was  not  to  be 
appeased,  shook  the  souls  of  the  commissioners,  and  they 
wrote  to  Governor  Morris,  urging  that  people  might  be 
set  at  work  upon  the  road,  if  the  Assembly  had  made 
provision  for  opening  it;  and  that  flour  might  be  sent 
without  delay  to  the  mouth  of  Canococheague  River,  "  as 
being  the  only  remedy  left  to  prevent  these  threatened 
mischiefs."  *  . 

In  reply,  Mr.  Richard  Peters,  Governor  Morris*  secre 
tary,  wrote  in  his  name  :  "  Get  a  number  of  hands  imme- 

*  Colonial  Records,  vol.  vi.  p.  368. 


202  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

diately,  and  further  the  work  by  all  possible  methods. 
Your  expenses  will  be  paid  at  the  next  sitting  of  Assem 
bly.  Do  your  duty,  and  oblige  the  general  and  quarter 
master  if  possible.  Finish  the  road  that  will  be  wanted 
first,  and  then  proceed  to  any  other  that  may  be  thought 
necessary." 

An  additional  commission,  of  a  different  kind,  was  in 
trusted  to  George  Croghan.  Governor  Morris  by  letter 
requested  him  to  convene  at  Aughquick,  in  Pennsylvania, 
as  many  warriors  as  possible  of  the  mixed  tribes  of  the 
Ohio,  distribute  among  them  wampum  belts  sent  for  the 
purpose,  and  engage  them  to  meet  General  Braddock 
when  on  the  march,  and  render  him  all  the  assistance  in 
their  power. 

In  reply,  Croghan  engaged  to  enlist  a  strong  body  of 
Indians,  being  sure  of  the  influence  of  Scarooyadi,  succes 
sor  to  the  half-king,  and  of  his  adjunct,  White  Thunder, 
keeper  of  the  speech-belts.*  At  the  instance  of  Governor 
Morris,  Croghan  secured  the  services  of  another  kind  of 
force.  This  was  a  band  of  hunters,  resolute  men,  well 
acquainted  with  the  country,  and  inured  to  hardships. 
They  were  under  the  command  of  Captain  Jack,  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  characters  of  Pennsylvania,  a  com 
plete  hero  of  the  wilderness.  He  had  been  for  many 
years  a  captive  among  the  Indians ;  and,  having  learnt 
their  ways,  had  formed  this  association  for  the  protection 

*  Colonial  Records,  vol.  vi.  p.  375. 


CAPTAIN  JACK  AND  HIS  BAND.  203 

of  the  settlements,  receiving  a  commission  of  captain 
from  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania.  The  band  had  be 
come  famous  for  its  exploits,  and  was  a  terror  to  the  In 
dians.  Captain  Jack  was  at  present  protecting  the  set 
tlements  on  the  Canococheague  ;  but  promised  to  march 
by  a  circuitous  route  and  join  Braddock  with  his  hunters. 
"  They  require  no  shelter  for  the  night,"  writes  Croghan  ; 
"  they  ask  no  pay.  If  the  whole  army  was  composed  of 
such  men  there  would  be  no  cause  of  apprehension.  I 
shall  be  with  them  in  time  for  duty."  * 


NOTE. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter,  dated  August,  1750,  gives  one  of  th& 
stories  relative  to  this  individual : — 

"  The  '  Black  Hunter,'  the  « Black  Rifle,'  the  « Wild  Hunter  of  Juniata,' 
is  a  white  man  ;  his  history  is  this  :  He  entered  the  woods  with  a  few 
enterprising  companions  ;  built  his  cabin  ;  cleared  a  little  land,  and 
amused  himself  with  the  pleasures  of  fishing  and  hunting.  He  felt  happy, 
for  then  he  had  not  a  care.  But  on  an  evening  when  he  returned  from 
a  day  of  sport,  he  found  his  cabin  burnt,  his  wife  and  children  murdered. 
From  that  moment  he  forsakes  civilized  man  ;  hunts  out  caves,  in  which 
he  lives  ;  protects  the  frontier  inhabitants  from  the  Indians  ;  and  seizes 
every  opportunity  of  revenge  that  offers.  He  lives  the  terror  of  the  In 
dians  and  the  consolation  of  the  whites.  On  one  occasion,  near  Juniata, 
in  the  middle  of  a  dark  night,  a  family  were  suddenly  awakened  from 
sleep  by  the  report  of  a  gun  ;  they  jumped  from  their  huts,  and  by  the 
glimmering  light  from  the  chimney  saw  an  Indian  fall  to  rise  no  more. 
The  open  door  exposed  to  view  the  wild  hunter.  « I  have  saved  youi 
lives,'  he  cried,  then  turned  and  was  buried  in  the  gloom  of  night."— 
Hazard's  Register  ofPenn.  vol.  iv.  p.  389. 


*  Hazard's  Register  of  Penn.  vol.  iv.  p.  416. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

WASHINGTON  PROCLAIMED  AIDE-DE-CAMP. — DISAPPOINTMENTS  AT  FREDERICK' 
TOWN. — BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  AND  BRADDOCK. — CONTRACTS. — DEPARTURE 
FOR  WILLS'  CREEK. — ROUGH  ROADS. — THE  GENERAL  IN  HIS  CHARIOT. — 
CAMP  AT  FORT  CUMBERLAND. — HUGH  MERCER. — DR.  CRAIK. — MILITARY 
TACTICS. — CAMP  RULES.— SECRETARY  PETERS.— INDIANS  IN  CAMP.— INDIAN 
BEAUTIES.— THE  PRINCESS  BRIGHT  LIGHTNING.— ERRAND  TO  WILLIAMS- 
BURG. — BRADDOCK'S  OPINION  OF  CONTRACTORS  AND  INDIANS. — ARRIVAL 

OF   CONVEYANCES. 

ENEEAL  BEADDOCK  set  out  from  Alexandria 
on  the  20th  of  April.  Washington  remained  be 
hind  a  few  days  to  arrange  his  affairs,  and  then 
rejoined  him  at  Fredericktown,  in  Maryland,  where,  on 
the  10th  of  May,  he  was  proclaimed  one  of  the  general's 
aides-de-camp.  The  troubles  of  Braddock  had  already 
commenced.  The  Virginian  contractors  failed  to  fulfill 
their  engagements ;  of  all  the  immense  means  of  trans 
portation  so  confidently  promised,  but  fifteen  wagons  and 
a  hundred  draught-horses  had  arrived,  and  there  was  no 
prospect  of  more.  There  was  equal  disappointment  in 
provisions,  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality ;  and  he  had 
to  send  round  the  country  to  buy  cattle  for  the  subsist 
ence  of  the  troops. 

204 


BEADDOCK  AND  FRANKLIN.  205 

Fortunately  while  the  general  was  venting  his  spleen 
in  anathemas  against  army  contractors,  Benjamin  Frank 
lin  arrived  at  Fredericktown.  That  eminent  man,  then 
about  forty-nine  years  of  age,  had  been  for  many  years 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  and  was  now 
postmaster-general  for  America.  The  Assembly  under 
stood  that  Braddock  was  incensed  against  them,  suppos 
ing  them  adverse  to  the  service  of  the  war.  They  had 
procured  Franklin  to  wait  upon  him,  not  as  if  sent  by 
them,  but  as  if  he  came  in  his  capacity  of  postmaster- 
general,  to  arrange  for  the  sure  and  speedy  transmission 
of  despatches  between  the  commander-in-chief  and  the 
governors  of  the  provinces. 

He  was  well  received,  and  became  a  daily  guest  at  the 
general's  table.  In  his  autobiography,  he  gives  us  an 
instance  of  the  blind  confidence  and  fatal  prejudices  by 
which  Braddock  was  deluded  throughout  this  expedition. 
"In  conversation  with  him  one  day,"  writes  Franklin, 
"  he  was  giving  me  some  account  of  his  intended  prog 
ress.  'After  taking  Fort  Duquesne,'  said  he,  'I  am  to 
proceed  to  Niagara ;  and,  having  taken  that,  to  Frontenac, 
if  the  season  will  allow  time ;  and  I  suppose  it  will,  for 
Duquesne  can  hardly  detain  me  above  three  or  four 
days ;  and  then  I  can  see  nothing  that  can  obstruct  my 
march  to  Niagara.' 

"  Having  before  revolved  in  my  mind, "  continues 
Franklin,  "the  long  line  his  army  must  make  in  their 
march  by  a  very  narrow  road,  to  be  cut  for  them  through 


206  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  woods  and  bushes,  and  also  what  I  had  heard  of  a 
former  defeat  of  fifteen  hundred  French,  who  invaded 
the  Illinois  country,  I  had  conceived  some  doubts  and 
some  fears  for  the  event  of  the  campaign ;  but  I  ventured 
only  to  say,  '  To  be  sure,  sir,  if  you  arrive  well  before 
Duquesne  with  these  fine  troops,  so  well  provided  with 
artillery,  the  fort,  though  completely  fortified  and  assisted 
with  a  very  strong  garrison,  can  probably  make  but  a 
short  resistance.  The  only  danger  I  apprehend  of  ob 
struction  to  your  march,  is  from  the  ambuscades  of  the 
Indians,  who,  by  constant  practice,  are  dexterous  in  lay 
ing  and  executing  them;  and  the  slender  line,  nearly 
four  miles  long,  which  your  army  must  make,  may  expose 
it  to  be  attacked  by  surprise  on  its  flanks,  and  to  be  cut 
like  thread  into  several  pieces,  which,  from  their  dis 
tance,  cannot  come  up  in  time  to  support  one  another.' 

"He  smiled  at  my  ignorance,  and  replied :  'These  sav 
ages  may  indeed  be  a  formidable  enemy  to  raw  Ameri 
can  militia,  but  upon  the  king's  regular  and  disciplined 
troops,  sir,  it  is  impossible  they  should  make  an  impres 
sion.'  I  was  conscious  of  an  impropriety  in  my  disput 
ing  with  a  military  man  in  matters  of  his  profession,  and 
said  no  more."  * 

As  the  whole  delay  of  the  army  was  caused  by  the 
want  of  conveyances,  Franklin  observed  one  day  to  the 
general  that  it  was  a  pity  the  troops  had  not  been  landed 

*  Autobiography  of  Franklin,  Sparks'  edition,  p.  190. 


DEPARTURE  FOR    WILLS'  CREEK.  207 

in  Pennsylvania,  where  almost  every  farmer  had  his  wagon. 
"  Then,  sir,"  replied  Braddock,  "  you  who  are  a  man  of 
interest  there  can  probably  procure  them  for  me,  and  I 
beg  you  will."  Franklin  consented.  An  instrument  in 
writing  was  drawn  up,  empowering  him  to  contract  for 
one  hundred  and  fifty  wagons,  with  four  horses  to  each 
wagon,  and  fifteen  hundred  saddle  or  pack-horses  for  the 
service  of  His  Majesty's  forces,  to  be  at  Wills'  Creek  on 
or  before  the  20th  of  May;  and  he  promptly  departed 
for  Lancaster  to  execute  the  commission. 

After  his  departure,  Braddock,  attended  by  his  staff 
and  his  guard  of  light  horse,  set  off  for  Wills'  Creek  by 
the  way  of  Winchester,  the  road  along  the  north  side  of 
the  Potomac  not  being  yet  made.  "  This  gave  him," 
writes  Washington,  "  a  good  opportunity  to  see  the  ab 
surdity  of  the  route,  and  of  damning  it  very  heartily."  * 

Three  of  Washington's  horses  were  knocked  up  before 
they  reached  Winchester,  and  he  had  to  purchase  others. 
This  was  a  severe  drain  of  his  campaigning  purse ;  for 
tunately  he  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Greenway  Court, 
and  was  enabled  to  replenish  it  by  a  loan  from  his  old 
friend  Lord  Fairfax. 

The  discomforts  of  the  rough  road  were  increased  with 
the  general,  by  his  travelling  with  some  degree  of  statfe 
in  a  chariot  which  he  had  purchased  of  Governor  Sharpev 
In  this  he  dashed  by  Dunbar's  division  of  the  troops^ 

*  Draft  of  a  letter,  among  Washington's  papers,  addressed  to  Maioi 
•lohn  Carlyle. 


208  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

which  he  overtook  near  Wills'  Creek ;  his  body  guard  of 
light  horse  galloping  on  each  side  of  his  chariot,  and 
his  staff  accompanying  him;  the  drums  beating  the 
Grenadiers'  March  as  he  passed.  In  this  style,  too,  he 
arrived  at  Fort  Cumberland,  amid  a  thundering  salute  of 
seventeen  guns.* 

By  this  time  the  general  discovered  that  he  was  not  in 
a  region  fitted  for  such  display,  and  his  travelling  chariot 
was  abandoned  at  Fort  Cumberland ;  otherwise  it  would 
soon  have  become  a  wreck  among  the  mountains  beyond. 

By  the  19th  of  May,  the  forces  were  assembled  at  Fort 
Cumberland.  The  two  royal  regiments,  originally  one 
thousand  strong,  now  increased  to  fourteen  hundred,  by 
men  chosen  from  the  Maryland  and  Virginia  levies  ;  two 
provincial  companies  of  carpenters,  or  pioneers,  thirty 
men  each,  with  subalterns  and  captains ;  a  company  of 
guides,  composed  of  a  captain,  two  aids,  and  ten  men; 
the  troop  of  Virginia  light  horse,  commanded  by  Captain 
Stewart ;  the  detachment  of  thirty  sailors  with  their  offi 
cers,  and  the  remnants  of  two  independent  companies 
from  New  York,  one  of  which  was  commanded  by  Cap 
tain  Horatio  Gates,  of  whom  we  shall  have  to  speak  much 
hereafter,  in  the  course  of  this  biography. 

Another  person  in  camp,  of  subsequent  notoriety,  and 
who  became  a  warm  friend  of  Washington,  was  Dr.  Hugh 
Mercer,  a  Scotchman,  about  thirty-three  years  of  age. 

»  Journal  of  the  Seamen's  detachment. 


MILITARY  DISCIPLINE.  209 

About  ten  years  previously  he  had  served  as  assistant 
surgeon  in  the  forces  of  Charles  Edward,  and  followed 
his  standard  to  the  disastrous  field  of  Culloden.  Aftei 
the  defeat  of  the  "  chevalier,"  Mercer  had  escaped  by  the 
way  of  Inverness  to  America,  and  taken  up  his  residence 
in  Virginia.  He  was  now  with  the  Yirginia  troops,  rally 
ing  under  the  standard  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  in  an 
expedition  led  by  a  general  who  had  aided  to  drive  the 
chevalier  from  Scotland.* 

Another  young  Scotchman  in  the  camp  was  Dr.  James 
Oraik,  who  had  become  strongly  attached  to  Washington, 
being  about  the  same  age,  and  having  been  with  him  in 
the  affair  of  the  Great  Meadows,  serving  as  surgeon  in 
the  Virginia  regiment,  to  which  he  still  belonged. 

At  Fort  Cumberland,  Washington  had  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  a  force  encamped  according  to  the  plan  ap 
proved  of  by  the  council  of  war ;  and  military  tactics, 
enforced  with  all  the  precision  of  a  martinet. 

The  roll  of  each  company  was  called  over  morning, 
noon,  and  night.  There  was  strict  examination  of  arms 
and  accoutrements  ;  the  commanding  officer  of  each  com 
pany  being  answerable  for  their  being  kept  in  good  order. 

The  general  was  very  particular  in  regard  to  the  ap 
pearance  and  drill  of  the  Virginia  recruits  and  compa 
nies,  whom  he  had  put  under  the  rigorous  discipline  of 
Ensign  Allen.  "They  performed  their  evolutions  and 

*  Braddock  had  been  an  officer  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  in  his 
Campaign  against  Charles  Edward. 
VOL.  i. — 14 


210  LIFE  OF 

firings  as  well  as  could  be  expected,"  writes  Captain 
Orme,  "but  their  languid,  spiritless,  and  unsoldier-like 
appearance,  considered  with  the  lowness  and  ignorance 
of  most  of  their  officers,  gave  little  hopes  of  their  future 
good  behavior."*  He  doubtless  echoed  the  opinion  oi 
the  general ;  how  completely  were  both  to  be  undeceived 
as  to  their  estimate  of  these  troops ! 

The  general  held  a  levee  in  his  tent  every  morning, 
from  ten  to  eleven.  He  was  strict  as  to  the  morals  of  the 
camp.  Drunkenness  was  severely  punished.  A  soldier 
convicted  of  theft  was  sentenced  to  receive  one  thousand 
lashes,  and  to  be  drummed  out  of  his  regiment.  Part  oi 
the  first  part  of  the  sentence  was  remitted.  Divine  ser 
vice  was  performed  every  Sunday,  at  the  head  of  the 
colors  of  each  regiment,  by  the  chaplain.  There  was  the 
funeral  of  a  captain  who  died  at  this  encampment.  A 
captain's  guard  marched  before  the  corpse,  the  captain  of 
it  in  the  rear,  the  firelocks  reversed,  the  drums  beating 
the  dead  march.  "When  near  the  grave,  the  guard  formed 
two  lines,  facing  each  other ;  rested  on  their  arms,  muz 
zles  downwards,  and  leaned  their  faces  on  the  butts.  The 
corpse  was  carried  between  them,  the  sword  and  sa«h  on 
the  coffin,  and  the  officers  following  two  and  two.  After 
the  chaplain  of  the  regiment  had  read  the  service,  the 
guard  fired  three  volleys  over  the  grave,  and  re  turned,  t 

Braddock's  camp,  in  a  word,  was  a  complete  study  foi 

*  Orme's  Journal. 

f  Orme's  Journal.    Journal  of  tlw  Seamen1  s  detachment. 


SCARCITY   OF  SUPPLIES.  211 

Washington,  during  the  halt  at  Fort  Cumberland,  where 
he  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  military  routine  in  its 
strictest  forms.  He  had  a  specimen,  too,  of  convivial  life 
in  the  camp,  which  the  general  endeavored  to  maintain, 
even  in  the  wilderness,  keeping  a  hospitable  table ;  for  he 
is  said  to  have  been  somewhat  of  a  bon  vivant,  and  to 
have  had  with  him  "two  good  cooks,  who  could  make  an 
excellent  ragout  out  of  a  pair  of  boots,  had  they  but 
materials  to  toss  them  up  with."* 

There  was  great  detention  at  the  fort,  caused  by  the 
want  of  forage  and  supplies,  the  road  not  having  been 
finished  from  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Eichard  Peters,  the  sec 
retary  of  Governor  Morris,  was  in  camp,  to  attend  to  the 
matter.  He  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  Braddock's  com 
plaints.  The  general  declared  he  would  not  stir  from 
Wills'  Creek  until  he  had  the  governor's  assurance  that 
the  road  would  be  opened  in  time.  Mr.  Peters  requested 
guards  to  protect  the  men  while  at  work,  from  attacks  by 
the  Indians.  Braddock  swore  he  would  not  furnish  guards 
for  the  wood-cutters — "let  Pennsylvania  do  it!"  He 
scoffed  at  the  talk  about  danger  from  Indians.  Peters 
endeavored  to  make  him  sensible  of  the  peril  which 
threatened  him  in  this  respect.  Should  an  army  of  them, 
led  by  French  officers,  beset  him  in  his  march,  he  would 
not  be  able,  with  all  his  strength  and  military  skill,  to 
reach  Fort  Duquesne  without  a  body  of  rangers,  as  well 

*  Preface  to  Winthrop  Sargent's  Introductory  Memoir. 


212  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

on  foot  as  horseback.  The  general,  however,  "  despised 
his  observations."  *  Still,  guards  had  ultimately  to  be 
provided,  or  the  work  on  the  road  would  have  been  aban 
doned. 

Braddock,  in  fact,  was  completely  chagrined  and  dis 
appointed  about  the  Indians.  The  Cherokees  and  Ca- 
tawbas,  whom  Dinwiddie  had  given  him  reason  to  expect 
in  such  numbers,  never  arrived. 

George  Croghan  reached  the  camp  with  but  about  fifty 
warriors,  whom  he  had  brought  from  Aughquick.  At 
the  general's  request  he  sent  a  messenger  to  invite  the 
Delawares  and  Shawnees  from  the  Ohio,  who  returned 
with  two  chiefs  of  the  former  tribe.  Among  the  sachems 
thus  assembled  were  some  of  Washington's  former  allies, 
Scarooyadi,  alias  Monacatoocha,  successor  to  the  half- 
king,  White  Thunder,  the  keeper  of  the  speech-belts, 
and  Silver  Heels,  so  called,  probably,  from  being  swift  of 
foot. 

Notwithstanding  his  secret  contempt  for  the  Indians, 
Braddock,  agreeably  to  his  instructions,  treated  them 
with  great  ceremony.  A  grand  council  was  held  in  his 
tent,  where  all  his  officers  attended.  The  chiefs,  and  all 
the  warriors,  came  painted  and  decorated  for  war.  They 
were  received  with  military  honors,  the  guards  resting 
on  their  fire-arms.  The  general  made  them  a  speech 
through  his  interpreter,  expressing  the  grief  of  theii 

*  Colonial  Records,  vi.  396. 


INDIAN  ASSISTANCE.  213 

father,  the  great  king  of  England,  at  the  death  of  the 
half-king,  and  made  them  presents  to  console  them. 
They  in  return  promised  their  aid  as  guides  and  scouts, 
and  declared  eternal  enmity  to  the  French,  following 
the  declaration  with  the  war  song,  "making  a  terrible 
noise." 

The  general,  to  regale  and  astonish  them,  ordered  all 
the  artillery  to  be  fired,  "  the  drums  and  fifes  playing  and 
beating  the  point  of  war ; "  the  fete  ended  by  their  feast 
ing,  in  their  own  camp,  on  a  bullock  which  the  general 
had  given  them,  following  up  their  repast  by  dancing  the 
war  dance  round  a  fire,  to  the  sound  of  their  uncouth 
drums  and  rattles,  "  making  night  hideous "  by  howls 
and  yellings. 

"  I  have  engaged  between  forty  and  fifty  Indians  from 
the  frontiers  of  your  province  to  go  over  the  mountains 
with  me,"  writes  Braddock  to  Governor  Morris,  "and 
shall  take  Croghan  and  Montour  into  service."  Croghan 
was,  in  effect,  put  in  command  of  the  Indians,  and  a  war 
rant  given  to  him  of  captain. 

For  a  time  all  went  well.  The  Indians  had  their  sepa 
rate  camp,  where  they  passed  half  the  night  singing, 
dancing,  and  howling.  The  British  were  amused  by 
their  strange  ceremonies,  their  savage  antics,  and  savage 
decorations.  The  Indians,  on  the  other  hand,  loitered 
by  day  about  the  English  camp,  fiercely  painted  and  ar 
rayed,  gazing  with  silent  admiration  at  the  parade  of  the 
troops,  their  marchings  and  evolutions,  and  delighted 


214  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

with  the  horse-races,  with  which  the  young  officers  rec 
reated  themselves. 

Unluckily  the  warriors  had  brought  their  families  with 
them  to  Wills'  Creek,  and  the  women  were  even  fonder 
than  the  men  of  loitering  about  the  British  camp.  They 
were  not  destitute  of  attractions ;  for  the  young  squaws 
resemble  the  gypsies,  having  seductive  forms,  small 
hands  and  feet,  and  soft  voices.  Among  those  who 
visited  the  camp  was  one  who  no  doubt  passed  for  an 
Indian  princess.  She  was  the  daughter  of  the  sachem 
White  Thunder,  and  bore  the  dazzling  name  of  Bright 
Lightning.*  The  charms  of  these  wild-wood  beauties 
were  soon  acknowledged.  "The  squaws,"  writes  Secre 
tary  Peters,  "  bring  in  monsy  plenty  ;  the  officers  are 
scandalously  fond  of  them."  t 

The  jealousy  of  the  warriors  was  aroused ;  some  of 
them  became  furious.  To  prevent  discord,  the  squaws 
were  forbidden  to  come  into  the  British  camp.  This 
did  not  prevent  their  being  sought  elsewhere.  It  was 
ultimately  found  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  quiet,  to 
send  Bright  Lightning,  with  all  the  other  women  and 
children,  back  to  Aughquick.  White  Thunder  and  several 
of  the  warriors,  accompanied  them  for  their  protection. 

As  to  the  three  Delaware  chiefs,  they  returned  to  the 
Ohio,  promising  the  general  they  would  collect  their  war 
riors  together,  and  meet  him  on  his  march.  They  never 

*  Seamen's  Journal. 

f  Letter  of  Peters  to  Governor  Morris. 


WASHINGTON'S  SENSIBILITY.  215 

kept  their  word.  "  These  people  are  villains,  and  always 
side  with  the  strongest,"  says  a  shrewd  journalist  of  the 
expedition. 

During  the  halt  of  the  troops  at  Wills'  Creek,  Wash« 
ington  had  been  sent  to  Williamsburg  to  bring  on  four 
thousand  pounds  for  the  military  chest.  He  returned, 
after  a  fortnight's  absence,  escorted  from  Winchester  by 
eight  men,  "which  eight  men,"  writes  he,  "were  two  days 
assembling,  but  I  believe  would  not  have  been  more  than 
as  many  seconds  dispersing  if  I  had  been  attacked." 

He  found  the  general  out  of  all  patience  and  temper  at 
the  delays  and  disappointments  in  regard  to  horses,  wag 
ons,  and  forage,  making  no  allowances  for  the  difficulties 
incident  to  a  new  country,  and  to  the  novel  and  great 
demands  upon  its  scanty  and  scattered  resources.  He 
accused  the  army  contractors  of  want  of  faith,  honor,  and 
honesty;  and  in  his  moments  of  passion,  which  were 
many,  extended  the  stigma  to  the  whole  country.  This 
stung  the  patriotic  sensibility  of  Washington,  and  over 
came  his  usual  self-command,  and  the  proud  and  pas 
sionate  commander  was  occasionally  surprised  by  a 
well-merited  rebuke  from  his  aide-de-camp.  "We  have 
frequent  disputes  on  this  head,"  writes  Washington, 
"which  are  maintained  with  warmth  on  both  sides,  espe 
cially  on  his,  as  he  is  incapable  of  arguing  without  it,  or 
of  giving  up  any  point  he  asserts,  be  it  ever  so  inconv 
patible  with  reason  or  common  sense." 

The  same  pertinacity  was  maintained  with  respect  to 


216  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  Indians.  George  Croghan  informed  Washington  that 
the  sachems  considered  themselves  treated  with  slight, 
in  never  being  consulted  in  war  matters.  That  he  himself 
had  repeatedly  offered  the  services  of  the  warriors  under 
his  command  as  scouts  and  outguards,  but  his  offers  had 
been  rejected.  Washington  ventured  to  interfere,  and  to 
urge  their  importance  for  such  purposes,  especially  now 
when  they  were  approaching  the  stronghold  of  the  enemy. 
As  usual,  the  general  remained  bigoted  in  his  belief  of 
the  all-sufficiency  of  well-disciplined  troops. 

Either  from  disgust  thus  caused,  or  from  being  actually 
dismissed,  the  warriors  began  to  disappear  from  the 
camp.  It  is  said  that  Colonel  Innes,  who  was  to  remain 
in  command  at  Fort  Cumberland,  advised  the  dismissal  of 
all  but  a  few  to  serve  as  guides ;  certain  it  is,  before  Brad- 
dock  recommenced  his  march,  none  remained  to  accom 
pany  him  but  Scarooyadi,  and  eight  of  his  warriors.* 

Seeing  the  general's  impatience  at  the  non-arrival  of 
conveyances,  Washington  again  represented  to  him  the 
difficulties  he  would  encounter  in  attempting  to  traverse 
the  mountains  with  such  a  train  of  wheel-carriages,  assur 
ing  him  it  would  be  the  most  arduous  part  of  the  campaign ; 

*  Braddock's  own  secretary,  William  Shirley,  was  disaffected  to  him. 
Writing  about  him  to  Governor  Morris,  he  satirically  observes:  "We 
have  a  general  most  judiciously  chosen  for  being  disqualified  for  the  ser 
vice  he  is  employed  in,  in  almost  every  respect."  And  of  the  secondary 
officers  :  "As  to  them,  I  don't  think  we  have  much  to  boast.  Some  are 
insolent  and  ignorant  ;  others  capable,  but  rather  aiming  at  showing  their 
own  abilities  than  making  a  proper  use  of  them." — Colonial  Records,  vi 
405. 


ARRIVAL   OP  CONVEYANCES.  217 

and  recommended,  from  his  own  experience,  the  substi 
tution,  as  much  as  possible,  of  pack-horses.  Braddock, 
however,  had  not  been  sufficiently  harassed  by  frontier 
campaigning  to  depart  from  his  European  modes,  or  to  be 
swayed  in  his  military  operations  by  so  green  a  counselor. 

At  length  the  general  was  relieved  from  present  per 
plexities  by  the  arrival  of  the  horses  anu  wagons  which 
Franklin  had  undertaken  to  procure.  That  eminent 
man,  with  his  characteristic  promptness  and  unwearied 
exertions,  and  by  his  great  personal  popularity,  had  ob 
tained  them  from  the  reluctant  Pennsylvania  farmers, 
being  obliged  to  pledge  his  own  responsibility  for  their 
being  fully  remunerated.  He  performed  this  laborious 
task  out  of  pure  zeal  for  the  public  service,  neither  ex 
pecting  nor  receiving  emolument ;  and,  in  fact,  experi 
encing  subsequently  great  delay  and  embarrassment  be 
fore  he  was  relieved  from  the  pecuniary  responsibilities 
thus  patriotically  incurred. 

The  arrival  of  the  conveyances  put  Braddock  in  good 
humor  with  Pennsylvania.  In  a  letter  to  Governor  Mor 
ris,  he  alludes  to  the  threat  of  Sir  John  St.  Clair  to  go 
through  that  province  with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand. 
"  He  is  ashamed  of  his  having  talked  to  you  in  the  man 
ner  he  did."  Still  the  general  made  Franklin's  contract 
for  wagons  the  sole  instance  in  which  he  had  not  experi 
enced  deceit  and  villainy.  "  I  hope,  however,  in  spite  of 
all  this,"  adds  he,  "  that  we  shall  pass  a  merry  Christmas 
together." 


CHAPTEK  XVI. 


MARCH  FROM  PORT  CUMBERLAND. — THE  GREAT  SAVAGE  MOUNTAIN. — CAMP  A? 
THE  LITTLE  MEADOWS. — DIVISION  OF  THE  FORCES.— CAPTAIN  JACK  AND 
HIS  BAND.— SCAROOY  ADI  IN  DANGER.— ILLNESS  OF  WASHINGTON. —HIS 
HALT  AT  THE  YOUGHIOGHENY.— MARCH  OF  BRADDOCK.— THE  GREAT  MEAD 
OWS. —  LURKING  ENEMIES. —  THEIR  TRACKS. — PRECAUTIONS. — THICKETTY 
RUN. — SCOUTS. — INDIAN  MURDERS. — FUNERAL  OF  AN  INDIAN  WARRIOR. 
— CAMP  ON  THE  MONONGAHELA. — WASHINGTON'S  ARRIVAL  THERE. — MARCH 
FOR  FORT  DUQUESNE. — THE  FORDING  OF  THE  MONONGAHELA. — THE  BAT 
TLE. — THE  RETREAT. — DEATH  OF  BRADDOCK. 


N  the  10th  of  June,  Braddock  set  off  from  Fort 
Cumberland  with  his  aides-de-camp,  and  others 
of  his  staff,  and  his  body-guard  of  light  horse. 
Sir  Peter  Halket,  with  his  brigade,  had  marched  three 
days  previously ;  and  a  detachment  of  six  hundred  men, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Chapman,  and  the  super 
vision  of  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  had  been  employed  upwards 
of  ten  days  in  cutting  down  trees,  removing  rocks,  and 
opening  a  road. 

The  march  over  the  mountain  proved,  as  Washington 
had  foretold,  a  "  tremendous  undertaking."  It  was  with 
difficulty  the  heavily  laden  wagons  could  be  dragged  up 
the  steep  and  rugged  roads,  newly  made,  or  imperfectly 

repaired.     Often  they  extended  for  three  or  four  miles  ID 

218 


ARTIFICIAL  NECESSARIES.  219 

a  straggling  and  broken  line,  with  the  soldiers  so  dis 
persed,  in  guarding  them,  that  an  attack  on  any  side 
would  have  thrown  the  whole  in  confusion.  It  was  the 
dreary  region  of  the  great  Savage  Mountain,  and  the 
"  Shades  of  Death  "  that  was  again  made  to  echo  with 
the  din  of  arms. 

What  outraged  Washington's  notions  of  the  abstemious 
frugality  suitable  to  campaigning  in  the  "backwoods," 
was  the  great  number  of  horses  and  wagons  required  by 
the  officers  for  the  transportation  of  their  baggage,  camp 
equipage,  and  a  thousand  articles  of  artificial  necessity. 
Simple  himself  in  his  tastes  and  habits,  and  manfully  in* 
different  to  personal  indulgences,  he  almost  doubted 
whether  such  sybarites  in  the  camp  could  be  efficient  in 
the  field. 

By  the  time  the  advanced  corps  had  struggled  over 
two  mountains,  and  through  the  intervening  forest,  and 
reached  (16th  June)  the  Little  Meadows,  where  Sir  John 
St.  Clair  had  made  a  temporary  camp,  General  Braddock 
had  become  aware  of  the  difference  between  campaigning 
in  a  new  country,  or  on  the  old  well-beaten  battle 
grounds  of  Europe.  He  now  of  his  own  accord  turned  to 
Washington  for  advice,  though  it  must  have  been  a  sore 
trial  to  his  pride  to  seek  it  of  so  young  a  man ;  but  he 
had  by  this  time  sufficient  proof  of  his  sagacity,  and  his 
knowledge  of  the  frontier. 

Thus  unexpectedly  called  on,  Washington  gave  his 
counsel  with  becoming  modesty,  but  with  his  accustomed 


220  LIFE  OP   WASHINGTON. 

clearness.  There  was  just  now  an  opportunity  to  strike 
an  effective  blow  at  Fort  Duquesne,  but  it  might  be  lost 
by  delay.  The  garrison,  according  to  credible  reports, 
was  weak ;  large  reinforcements  and  supplies,  which 
were  on  their  way,  would  be  detained  by  the  drought, 
which  rendered  the  river  by  which  they  must  come  low 
and  unnavigable.  The  blow  must  be  struck  before  they 
could  arrive.  He  advised  the  general,  therefore,  to  di* 
vide  his  forces ;  leave  one  part  to  come  on  with  the  stores 
and  baggage,  and  all  the  cumbrous  appurtenances  of  an 
army,  and  to  throw  himself  in  the  advance  with  the  othei 
part,  composed  of  his  choicest  troops,  lightened  of  every 
thing  superfluous  that  might  impede  a  rapid  march. 

His  advice  was  adopted.  Twelve  hundred  men  se 
lected  out  of  all  the  companies,  and  furnished  with  tec 
field-pieces,  were  to  form  the  first  division,  their  pro- 
visions  and  other  necessaries  to  be  carried  on  pack- 
horses.  The  second  division,  with  all  the  stores,  muni 
tions,  and  heavy  baggage,  was  to  be  brought  on  by  Colo 
nel  Dunbar. 

The  least  practicable  part  of  the  arrangement  was  with 
regard  to  the  officers  of  the  advance.  Washington  had 
urged  a  retrenchment  of  their  baggage  and  camp  equi 
page,  that  as  many  of  their  horses  as  possible  might  be 
used  as  pack-horses.  Here  was  the  difficulty.  Brought 
up,  many  of  them,  in  fashionable  and  luxurious  life,  or 
the  loitering  indulgence  of  country  quarters,  they  were 
so  encumbered  with  what  they  considered  indispensable 


CAPTAIN  JACK'S  PARTY.  221 

necessaries,  that  out  of  two  hundred  and  twelve  horses 
generally  appropriated  to  their  use,  not  more  than  a 
dozen  could  be  spared  by  them  for  the  public  service. 
Washington,  in  his  own  case,  acted  up  to  the  advice  he 
had  given.  He  retained  no  more  clothing  and  effects 
with  him  than  would  about  half  fill  a  portmanteau,  and 
gave  up  his  best  steed  as  a  pack-horse — which  he  never 
heard  of  afterwards.* 

During  the  halt  at  the  Little  Meadows,  Captain  Jack 
and  his  band  of  forest  rangers,  whom  Croghan  had  en 
gaged  at  Governor  Morris'  suggestion,  made  their  ap 
pearance  in  the  camp;  armed  and  equipped  with  rifle, 
knife,  hunting-shirts,  leggings,  and  moccasins,  and  looking 
almost  like  a  band  of  Indians  as  they  issued  from  the 
woods. 

The  captain  asked  an  interview  with  the  general,  by 
whom,  it  would  seem,  he  was  not  expected.  Braddock 
received  him  in  his  tent,  in  his  usual  stiff  and  stately 
manner.  The  "Black  Kifle"  spoke  of  himself  and  his 
followers  as  men  inured  to  hardships,  and  accustomed  to 
deal  with  Indians,  who  preferred  stealth  and  stratagem 
to  open  warfare.  He  requested  his  company  should  be 
employed  as  a  reconnoitering  party  to  beat  up  the  In 
dians  in  their  lurking-places  and  ambuscades. 

Braddock,  who  had  a  sovereign  contempt  for  the  chiv 
alry  of  the  woods,  and  despised  their  boasted  strategy, 

*  Letter  to  J.  Augustine  Washington.     Sparks,  ii.  81. 


222  LIFE  Ofl  WASHINGTON 

replied  to  the  hero  of  the  Pennsylvania  settlements  in  a 
manner  to  which  he  had  not  been  accustomed.  "  There 
was  time  enough,"  he  said,  "  for  making  arrangements ; 
and  he  had  experienced  troops,  on  whom  he  could  com 
pletely  rely  for  all  purposes." 

Captain  Jack  withdrew,  indignant  at  so  haughty  a  re 
ception,  and  informed  his  leathern-clad  followers  of  his 
rebuff.  They  forthwith  shouldered  their  rifles,  turned 
their  backs  upon  the  camp,  and,  headed  by  the  captain, 
departed  in  Indian  file  through  the  woods,  for  the  usual 
scenes  of  their  exploits,  where  men  knew  their  value,  the 
banks  of  the  Juniata  or  the  Conococheague.* 

On  the  19th  of  June  Braddock's  first  division  set  out, 
with  less  than  thirty  carriages,  including  those  that 
transported  ammunition  for  the  artillery,  all  strongly 
horsed.  The  Indians  marched  with  the  advanced  party. 
In  the  course  of  the  day,  Scarooyadi  and  his  son  being  at 
a  small  distance  from  the  line  of  march,  were  surrounded 
and  taken  by  some  French  and  Indians.  His  son  es 
caped,  and  brought  intelligence  to  his  warriors;  they 
hastened  to  rescue  or  revenge  him,  but  found  him  tied  to 
a  tree.  The  French  had  been  disposed  to  shoot  him,  but 
their  savage  allies  declared  they  would  abandon  them 
should  they  do  so ;  having  some  tie  of  friendship  or  kin- 

*  On  the  Conococheague  and  Juniata  is  left  the  history  of  their  ex 
ploits.  At  one  time  you  may  hear  of  the  band  near  Port  Augusta,  next 
at  Fort  Franklin,  then  at  London,  then  at  Juniata, — rapid  were  the 
movements  of  this  hardy  band.— Hazard's  Reg.  Penn.  iv.  390  ;  also,  v 
194. 


ILLNESS.  223 

dred  with  the  chieftain,  who  thus  rejoined  the  troops 
unharmed. 

Washington  was  disappointed  in  his  anticipations  of  a 
rapid  march.  The  general,  though  he  had  adopted  his 
advice  in  the  main,  could  not  carry  it  out  in  detail.  His 
military  education  was  in  the  way  ;  bigoted  to  the  regu 
lar  and  elaborate  tactics  of  Europe,  he  could  not  stoop  to 
the  make-shift  expedients  of  a  new  country,  where  every 
difficulty  is  encountered  and  mastered  in  a  rough-and- 
ready  style.  "  I  found,"  said  Washington,  "  that  instead 
of  pushing  on  with  vigor,  without  regarding  a  little  rough 
road,  they  were  halting  to  level  every  molehill,  and  to 
erect  bridges  over  every  brook,  by  which  means  we  were 
four  days  in  getting  twelve  miles." 

For  several  days  Washington  had  suffered  from  fever, 
accompanied  by  intense  headache,  and  his  illness  in 
creased  in  violence  to  such  a  degree  that  he  was  unable 
to  ride,  and  had  to  be  conveyed  for  a  part  of  the  time  in 
a  covered  wagon.  His  illness  continued  without  inter 
mission  until  the  23d,  "  when  I  was  relieved,"  says  he, 
"  by  the  general's  absolutely  ordering  the  physician  to 
give  me  Dr.  James'  powders  :  one  of  the  most  excellent 
medicines  in  the  world.  It  gave  me  immediate  relief, 
and  removed  my  fever  and  other  complaints  in  four  days' 


He  was  still  unable  to  bear  the  jolting  of  the  wagon, 
but  it  needed  another  interposition  of  the  kindly-intended 
authority  of  General  Braddock,  to  bring  him  to  a  halt 


224  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

at  the  great  crossings  of  the  Youghiogheny.  There  the 
general  assigned  him  a  guard,  provided  him  with  neces 
saries,  and  requested  him  to  remain,  under  care  of  his 
physician,  Dr.  Craik,  until  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Dun- 
bar's  detachment,  which  was  two  days'  march  in  the 
rear ;  giving  him  his  word  of  honor  that  he  should,  at  all 
events,  be  enabled  to  rejoin  the  main  division  before  it 
reached  the  French  fort.* 

This  kind  solicitude  on  the  part  of  Braddock,  shows 
the  real  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  that  officer. 
Doctor  Craik  backed  the  general's  orders,  by  declaring 
that  should  Washington  persevere  in  his  attempts  to  go 
on  in  the  condition  he  then  was,  his  life  would  be  in  dan 
ger.  Orme  also  joined  his  entreaties,  and  promised,  if 
he  would  remain,  he  would  keep  him  informed  by  letter 
of  every  occurrence  of  moment. 

Notwithstanding  all  kind  assurances  of  Braddock  and 
his  aide-de-camp  Orme,  it  was  with  gloomy  feelings  that 
Washington  saw  the  troops  depart,  fearful  he  might  not 
be  able  to  rejoin  them  in  time  for  the  attack  upon  the 
fort,  which,  he  assured  his  brother  aide-de-camp,  he 
would  not  miss  for  five  hundred  pounds. 

Leaving  Washington  at  the  Youghiogheny,  we  will  fol 
low  the  march  of  Braddock.  In  the  course  of  the  first 
day  (June  24th),  he  came  to  a  deserted  Indian  camp ; 
judging  from  the  number  of  wigwams,  there  must  have 

*  Letter  to  John  Augustine  Washington.    Sparks,  ii.  80. 


LURKING  ENEMIES.  225 

been  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  warriors.  Some  of 
the  trees  about  it  had  been  stripped,  and  painted  with 
threats,  and  bravadoes,  and  scurrilous  taunts  written  on 
them  in  the  French  language,  showing  that  there  were 
white  men  with  the  savages. 

The  next  morning  at  daybreak,  three  men  venturing 
beyond  the  sentinels  were  shot  and  scalped;  parties 
were  immediately  sent  out  to  scour  the  woods,  and  drive 
in  the  stray  horses. 

The  day's  march  passed  by  the  Great  Meadows  and 
Fort  Necessity,  the  scene  of  Washington's  capitulation. 
Several  Indians  were  seen  hovering  in  the  woods,  and 
the  light  horse  and  Indian  allies  were  sent  out  to  sur 
round  them,  but  did  not  succeed.  In  crossing  a  moun 
tain  beyond  the  Great  Meadows,,  the  carriages  had  to  be 
lowered  with  the  assistance  of  the  sailors,  by  means  of 
tackle.  The  camp  for  the  night  was  about  two  miles 
beyond  Fort  Necessity.  Several  French  and  Indians 
endeavored  to  reconnoiter  it,  but  were  fired  upon  by  the 
advanced  sentinels. 

The  following  day  (26th)  there  was  a  laborious  march 
of  but  four  miles,  owing  to  the  difficulties  of  the  road. 
The  evening  halt  was  at  another  deserted  Indian  camp, 
strongly  posted  on  a  high  rock,  with  a  steep  and  narrow 
ascent ;  it  had  a  spring  in  the  middle,  and  stood  at  the 
termination  of  the  Indian  path  to  the  Monongahela.  By 
this  pass  the  party  had  come  which  attacked  Washing 
ton  the  year  before,  in  the  Great  Meadows.  The  Indians 
YOL.  i.— 15 


226  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  French  too,  who  were  hovering  about  the  army,  had 
just  left  this  camp.  The  fires  they  had  left  were  yet 
burning.  The  French  had  inscribed  their  names  on 
some  of  the  trees  with  insulting  bravadoes,  and  the 
Indians  had  designated  in  triumph  the  scalps  they  had 
taken  two  days  previously.  A  party  was  sent  out  with 
guides,  to  follow  their  tracks  and  fall  on  them  in  the 
night,  but  again  without  success.  In  fact,  it  was  the 
Indian  boast,  that  throughout  this  march  of  Braddock, 
they  saw  him  every  day  from  the  mountains,  and  ex 
pected  to  be  able  to  shoot  down  his  soldiers  "like 
pigeons." 

The  march  continued  to  be  toilful  and  difficult ;  on  one 
day  it  did  not  exceed  two  miles,  having  to  cut  a  passage 
over  a  mountain.  In  cleaning  their  guns  the  men  were 
ordered  to  draw  the  charge,  instead  of  firing  it  off.  No 
fire  was  to  be  lighted  in  front  of  the  pickets.  At  night 
the  men  were  to  take  their  arms  into  the  tents  with 
them. 

Further  on  the  precautions  became  still  greater. 
On  the  advanced  pickets  the  men  were  in  two  divis 
ions,  relieving  each  other  every  two  hours.  Half  re 
mained  on  guard  with  fixed  bayonets,  the  other  half 
lay  down  by  their  arms.  The  picket  sentinels  were 
doubled. 

On  the  4th  of  July  they  encamped  at  Thicketty  Kun. 
The  country  was  less  mountainous  and  rocky,  and  the 
woods,  consisting  chiefly  of  white  pine,  were  more  open. 


SCOUTS.  227 

The  general  now  supposed  himself  to  be  within  thirty 
miles  of  Fort  Duquesne.  Ever  since  his  halt  at  the  de 
serted  camp  on  the  rock  beyond  the  Great  Meadows^  he 
had  endeavored  to  prevail  upon  the  Croghan  Indians  to 
scout  in  the  direction  of  the  fort,  and  bring  him  intelli 
gence,  but  never  could  succeed.  They  had  probably  been 
deterred  by  the  number  of  French  and  Indian  tracks,  and 
by  the  recent  capture  of  Scarooyadi.  This  day,  however, 
two  consented  to  reconnoiter  ;  and  shortly  after  their  de 
parture,  Christopher  Gist,  the  resolute  pioneer,  who  acted 
as  guide  to  the  general,  likewise  set  off  as  a  scout. 

The  Indians  returned  on  the  6th.  They  had  been  close 
to  Fort  Duquesne.  There  were  no  additional  works 
there  ;  they  saw  a  few  boats  under  the  fort,  and  one  with 
a  white  flag  coming  down  the  Ohio  ;  but  there  were  few 
men  to  be  seen,  and  few  tracks  of  any.  They  came  upon 
an  unfortunate  officer,  shooting  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
fort,  and  brought  a  scalp  as  a  trophy  of  his  fate.  None 
of  the  passes  between  the  camp  and  fort  were  occupied  ; 
they  believed  there  were  few  men  abroad  reconnoitering. 

Gist  returned  soon  after  them.  His  account  corrobo 
rated  theirs  ;  but  he  had  seen  a  smoke  in  a  valley  be 
tween  the  camp  and  the  fort,  made  probably  by  some 
scouting  party.  He  had  intended  to  prowl  about  the  fort 
at  night,  but  had  been  discovered  and  pursued  by  two 
Indians,  and  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life. 

On  the  same  day,  during  the  march,  three  or  four  men 
loitering  in  the  rear  of  the  grenadiers  were  killed  and 


228  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

scalped.  Several  of  the  grenadiers  set  off  to  take  re 
venge.  They  came  upon  a  party  of  Indians,  who  held  up 
boughs  and  grounded  their  arms,  the  concerted  sign  of 
amity.  Not  perceiving  or  understanding  it,  the  grena 
diers  fired  upon  them,  and  one  fell.  It  proved  to  be  the 
son  of  Scarooyadi.  Aware  too  late  of  their  error,  the 
grenadiers  brought  the  body  to  the  camp.  The  conduct 
of  Braddock  was  admirable  on  the  occasion.  He  sent 
for  the  father  and  the  other  Indians,  and  condoled  with 
them  on  the  lamentable  occurrence  ;  making  them  the 
customary  presents  of  expiation.  But  what  was  more  to 
the  point,  he  caused  the  youth  to  be  buried  with  the 
honors  of  war ;  at  his  request  the  officers  attended  the 
funeral,  and  a  volley  was  fired  over  the  grave. 

These  soldierlike  tributes  of  respect  to  the  deceased, 
and  sympathy  with  the  survivors,  soothed  the  feelings 
and  gratified  the  pride  of  the  father,  and  attached  him 
more  firmly  to  the  service.  We  are  glad  to  record  an 
anecdote  so  contrary  to  the  general  contempt  for  the 
Indians  with  which  Braddock  stands  charged.  It  speaks 
well  for  the  real  kindness  of  his  heart. 

We  will  return  now  to  Washington  in  his  sick  encamp 
ment  on  the  banks  of  the  Youghiogheny,  where  he  was 
left  repining  at  the  departure  of  the  troops  without  him. 
To  add  to  his  annoyances,  his  servant,  John  Alton,  a 
faithful  Welshman,  was  taken  ill  with  the  same  malady, 
and  unable  to  render  him  any  services.  Letters  from  his 
fellow  aides-de-camp  showed  him  the  kind  solicitude  that 


CONVALESCENCE.  229 

was  felt  concerning  him.  At  the  general's  desire,  Cap 
tain  Morris  wrote  to  him,  informing  him  of  their  intended 
halts. 

"  It  is  the  desire  of  every  individual  in  the  family," 
adds  he,  "  and  the  general's  positive  commands  to  you, 
not  to  stir,  but  by  the  advice  of  the  person  [Dr.  Craik] 
under  whose  care  you  are,  till  you  are  better,  which  we 
all  hope  will  be  very  soon." 

Orme,  too,  according  to  promise,  kept  him  informed  of 
the  incidents  of  the  march ;  the  frequent  night  alarms, 
and  occasional  scalping  parties.  The  night  alarms  Wash 
ington  considered  mere  feints,  designed  to  harass  the 
men  and  retard  the  march ;  the  enemy,  he  was  sure,  had 
not  sufficient  force  for  a  serious  attack ;  and  he  was  glad 
to  learn  from  Orme  that  the  men  were  in  high  spirits  and 
confident  of  success. 

He  now  considered  himself  sufficiently  recovered  to 
rejoin  the  troops,  and  his  only  anxiety  was  that  he  should 
not  be  able  to  do  it  in  time  for  the  great  blow.  He  was 
rejoiced,  therefore,  on  the  3d  of  July,  by  the  arrival  of  an 
advanced  party  of  one  hundred  men  convoying  provi 
sions.  Being  still  too  weak  to  mount  his  horse,  he  set  off 
with  the  escort  in  a  covered  wagon;  and  after  a  most 
fatiguing  journey,  over  mountain  and  through  forest, 
reached  Braddock's  camp  on  the  8th  of  July.  It  was  011 
the  east  side  of  the  Monongahela,  about  two  miles  from 
the  river,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  town  of  Queen  Ali- 
quippa,  and  about  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne. 


230  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  consequence  of  adhering  to  technical  rules  and  mill* 
tary  forms,  General  Braddock  had  consumed  a  month  in 
marching  little  more  than  a  hundred  miles.  The  tardi 
ness  of  his  progress  was  regarded  with  surprise  and  im 
patience  even  in  Europe ;  where  his  patron,  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  was  watching  the  events  of  the  campaign  he 
had  planned.  "  The  Duke,"  writes  Horace  Walpole,  "  is 
much  dissatisfied  at  the  slowness  of  General  Braddock, 
ivho  does  not  march  as  if  he  ivas  at  all  impatient  to  be 
scalped."  The  insinuation  of  the  satirical  wit  was  unmer 
ited.  Braddock  was  a  stranger  to  fear ;  but  in  his  move 
ments  he  was  fettered  by  system. 

Washington  was  warmly  received  on  his  arrival,  espe 
cially  by  his  fellow  aides-de-camp,  Morris  and  Orme. 
He  was  just  in  time,  for  the  attack  upon  Fort  Duquesne 
was  to  be  made  on  the  following  day.  The  neighboring 
country  had  been  reconnoitered  to  determine  upon  a 
plan  of  attack.  The  fort  stood  on  the  same  side  of  the 
Monongahela  with  the  camp ;  but  there  was  a  narrow 
pass  between  them  of  about  two  miles,  with  the  river  on 
the  left  and  a  very  high  mountain  on  the  right,  and  in  its 
present  state  quite  impassable  for  carriages.  The  route 
determined  on  was  to  cross  the  Monongahela  by  a  ford 
immediately  opposite  to  the  camp ;  proceed  along  the 
west  bank  of  the  river,  for  about  five  miles,  then  recross 
by  another  ford  to  the  eastern  side,  and  push  on  to  the 
fort.  The  river  at  these  fords  was  shallow,  and  the  banks 
were  not  steep. 


OB08BI&&   THE  MONONGAHELA.  231 

According  to  the  plan  of  arrangement,  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Gage,  with  the  advance,  was  to  cross  the  river 
before  daybreak,  march  to  the  second  ford,  and  recrossing 
there,  take  post  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  main  force. 
The  advance  was  to  be  composed  of  two  companies  of 
grenadiers,  one  hundred  and  sixty  infantry,  the  indepen 
dent  company  of  Captain  Horatio  Gates,  and  two  six- 
pounders. 

Washington,  who  had  already  seen  enough  of  regular 
troops  to  doub.t  their  infallibility  in  wild  bush-fighting^ 
and  who  knew  the  dangerous  nature  of  the  ground  they 
were  to  traverse,  ventured  to  suggest,  that  on  the  follow 
ing  day  the  Virginia  rangers,  being  accustomed  to  the 
country  and  to  Indian  warfare,  might  be  thrown  in  the 
advance.  The  proposition  drew  an  angry  reply  from  the 
general,  indignant  very  probably,  that  a  young  provincial 
officer  should  presume  to  school  a  veteran  like  himself. 

Early  next  morning  (July  9th),  before  daylight,  Colonel 
Gage  crossed  with  the  advance.  He  was  followed,  at 
some  distance,  by  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  quartermaster-gen 
eral,  with  a  working  party  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
to  make  roads  for  the  artillery  and  baggage.  They  had 
with  them  their  wagons  of  tools,  and  two  six-pounders. 
A  party  of  about  thirty  savages  rushed  out  of  the  woods 
as  Colonel  Gage  advanced,  but  were  put  to  flight  before 
they  had  done  any  harm. 

By  sunrise  the  main  body  turned  out  in  full  uniform. 
At  the  beating  of  "the  general,"  their  arms,  which  had 


232  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

been  cleaned  the  night  before,  were  charged  with  fresh 
cartridges.  The  officers  were  perfectly  equipped.  All 
looked  as  if  arrayed  for  a  fete,  rather  than  a  battle. 
Washington,  who  was  still  weak  and  unwell,  mounted  his 
horse,  and  joined  the  staff  of  the  general,  who  was  scru 
tinizing  everything  with  the  eye  of  a  martinet.  As  it  was 
supposed  the  enemy  would  be  on  the  watch  for  the  cross 
ing  of  the  troops,  it  had  been  agreed  that  they  should  do 
it  in  the  greatest  order,  with  bayonets  fixed,  colors  flying, 
and  drums  and  fifes  beating  and  playing.*  They  accord 
ingly  made  a  gallant  appearance  as  they  folded  the 
Monongahela,  and  wound  along  its  banks,  and  through 
the  open  forests,  gleaming  and  glittering  in  morning 
sunshine,  and  stepping  buoyantly  to  the  "Grenadiers* 
March." 

Washington,  with  his  keen  and  youthful  relish  for  mili 
tary  affairs,  was  delighted  with  their  perfect  order  and 
equipment,  so  different  from  the  rough  bush-fighters,  to 
which  he  had  been  accustomed.  Boused  to  new  life,  he 
forgot  his  recent  ailments,  and  broke  forth  in  expressions 
of  enjoyment  and  admiration,  as  he  rode  in  company  with 
his  fellow  aides-de-camp,  Orme  and  Morris.  Often,  in 
after  life,  he  used  to  speak  of  the  effect  upon  him  of  the 
first  sight  of  a  well-disciplined  European  army,  marching 
in  high  confidence  and  bright  array,  on  the  eve  of  a  battle. 

About  noon  they  reached  the  second  ford.     Gage,  with 

*  Orrne's  Journal. 


THE  MARCH.  233 

the  advance,  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Mononga- 
hela,  posted  according  to  orders ;  but  the  river  bank  had 
not  been  sufficiently  sloped.  The  artillery  and  baggage 
drew  up  along  the  beach  and  halted  until  one,  when  the 
second  crossing  took  place,  drums  beating,  fifes  playing, 
and  colors  flying  as  before.  When  all  had  passed,  there 
was  again  a  halt  close  by  a  small  stream  called  Frazier's 
Kun,  until  the  general  arranged  the  order  of  march. 

First  went  the  advance,  under  Gage,  preceded  by  the 
engineers  and  guides,  and  six  light  horsemen. 

Then,  Sir  John  St.  Glair  and  the  working  party,  with 
their  wagons  and  the  two  six-pounders.  On  each  side 
were  thrown  out  four  flanking  parties. 

Then,  at  some  distance,  the  general  was  to  follow  with 
the  main  body,  the  artillery  and  baggage  were  preceded 
and  flanked  by  light  horse  and  squads  of  infantry ;  while 
the  Virginian  and  other  provincial  troops,  were  to  form 
the  rear-guard. 

The  ground  before  them  was  level  until  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  river,  where  a  rising  ground,  covered  with 
long  grass,  low  bushes,  and  scattered  trees,  sloped  gently 
up  to  a  range  of  hills.  The  whole  country,  generally 
speaking,  was  a  forest,  with  no  clear  opening  but  the 
road,  which  was  about  twelve  feet  wide,  and  flanked  by 
two  ravines,  concealed  by  trees  and  thickets. 

Had  Braddock  been  schooled  in  the  warfare  of  the 
woods,  or  had  he  adopted  the  suggestions  of  Washing 
ton,  which  he  rejected  so  impatiently,  he  would  have 


234  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

thrown  out  Indian  scouts  or  Virginian  rangers  in  the 
advance,  and  on  the  flanks,  to  beat  up  the  woods  ancl 
ravines ;  but,  as  has  been  sarcastically  observed,  he  suf 
fered  his  troops  to  march  forward  through  the  centre  of 
the  plain,  with  merely  their  usual  guides  and  flanking 
parties,  "  as  if  in  a  review  in  St.  James's  Park." 

It  was  now  near  two  o'clock.  The  advanced  party  and 
the  working  party  had  crossed  the  plain  and  were  as 
cending  the  rising  ground.  Braddock  was  about  to  fol 
low  with  the  main  body,  and  had  given  the  word  to 
march,  when  he  heard  an  excessively  quick  and  heavy 
firing  in  front.  "Washington,  who  was  with  the  general, 
surmised  that  the  evil  he  had  apprehended  had  come  to 
pass.  For  want  of  scouting  parties  ahead,  the  advance 
parties  were  suddenly  and  warmly  attacked.  Brad- 
dock  ordered  Lieutenant-colonel  Burton  to  hasten  to 
their  assistance  with  the  vanguard  of  the  main  body, 
eight  hundred  strong.  The  residue,  four  hundred, 
were  halted,  and  posted  to  protect  the  artillery  and  bag 
gage. 

The  firing  continued  with  fearful  yelling.  There  was  a 
terrible  uproar.  By  the  general's  orders  an  aide-de-camp 
spurred  forward  to  bring  him  an  account  of  the  nature  of 
the  attack.  "Without  waiting  for  his  return  the  general 
himself,  finding  the  turmoil  increase,  moved  forward, 
leaving  Sir  Peter  Halket  with  the  command  of  the  bag 


gage.* 


*  Orme's  Journal. 


"FRENCH  AND  INDIANS."  235 

The  van  of  the  advance  had  indeed  been  taken  by  sur- 
prise.  It  was  composed  of  two  companies  of  pioneers  to 
cut  the  road,  and  two  flank  companies  of  grenadiers  to 
protect  them.  Suddenly  the  engineer  who  preceded  them 
to  mark  out  the  road  gave  the  alarm,  "  French  and  In 
dians  ! "  A  body  of  them  was  approaching  rapidly,  cheered 
on  by  a  Frenchman  in  gayly  fringed  hunting-shirt,  whose 
gorget  showed  him  to  be  an  officer.  There  was  sharp 
firing  on  both  sides  at  first.  Several  of  the  enemy  fell ; 
among  them  their  leader ;  but  a  murderous  fire  broke  out 
from  among  trees  and  a  ravine  on  the  right,  and  the 
woods  resounded  with  unearthly  whoops  and  yellings. 
The  Indian  rifle  was  at  work,  leveled  by  unseen  hands. 
Most  of  the  grenadiers  and  many  of  the  pioneers  were 
shot  down.  The  survivors  were  driven  in  on  the  advance. 

Gage  ordered  his  men  to  fix  bayonets  and  form  in  order 
of  battle.  They  did  so  in  hurry  and  trepidation.  He 
would  have  scaled  a  hill  on  the  right  whence  there  was 
the  severest  firing.  Not  a  platoon  would  quit  the  line  of 
march.  They  were  more  dismayed  by  the  yells  than  by 
the  rifles  of  the  unseen  savages.  The  latter  extended 
themselves  along  the  hill  and  in  the  ravines;  but  their 
whereabouts  was  only  known  by  their  demoniac  cries  and 
the  puffs  of  smoke  from  their  rifles.  The  soldiers  fired 
wherever  they  saw  the  smoke.  Their  officers  tried  in  vain 
to  restrain  them  until  they  should  see  their  foe.  All 
orders  were  unheeded ;  in  their  fright  they  shot  at  ran 
dom,  killing  some  of  their  own  flanking  parties,  and  oi 


236  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  vanguard,  as  they  came  running  in.  The  covert  fire 
grew  more  intense.  In  a  short  time  most  of  the  officers 
and  many  of  the  men  of  the  advance  were  killed  or 
wounded.  Colonel  Gage  himself  received  a  wound.  The 
advance  fell  back  in  dismay  upon  Sir  John  St.  Glair's 
corps,  which  was  equally  dismayed.  The  cannon  belong 
ing  to  it  were  deserted. 

Colonel  Burton  had  come  up  with  the  reinforcement, 
and  was  forming  his  men  to  face  the  rising  ground  on  the 
right,  when  both  of  the  advanced  detachments  fell  back 
upon  him,  and  all  now  was  confusion. 

By  this  time  the  general  was  upon  the  ground.  He 
tried  to  rally  the  men.  "  They  would  fight,"  they  said, 
"  if  they  could  see  their  enemy ;  but  it  was  useless  to  fire 
at  trees  and  bushes,  and  they  could  not  stand  to  be  shot 
down  by  an  invisible  foe." 

The  colors  were  advanced  in  different  places  to  separate 
the  men  of  the  two  regiments.  The  general  ordered  the 
officers  to  form  the  men,  tell  them  off  into  small  divisions, 
and  advance  with  them;  but  the  soldiers  could  not  be 
prevailed  upon  either  by  threats  or  entreaties.  The  Vir 
ginia  troops,  accustomed  to  the  Indian  mode  of  fighting, 
scattered  themselves,  and  took  post  behind  trees,  whence 
they  could  pick  off  the  lurking  foe.  In  this  way  they,  in 
some  degree,  protected  the  regulars.  Washington  ad 
vised  General  Braddock  to  adopt  the  same  plan  with  the 
regulars ;  but  he  persisted  in  forming  them  into  platoons ; 
consequently  they  were  cut  down  from  behind  logs  and 


BRAVERY  OF  THE  OFFICERS.  237 

trees  as  fast  as  they  could  advance.  Several  attempted  to 
take  to  the  trees,  without  orders,  but  the  general  stormed 
at  them,  called  them  cowards,  and  even  struck  them  with 
the  flat  of  his  sword.  Several  of  the  Virginians,  who  had 
taken  post  and  were  doing  good  service  in  this  manner,, 
were  slain  by  the  fire  of  the  regulars,  directed  wherever 
a  smoke  appeared  among  the  trees. 

The  officers  behaved  with  consummate  bravery ;  and 
"Washington  beheld  with  admiration  those  who,  in  camp 
or  on  the  march,  had  appeared  to  him  to  have  an  almost 
effeminate  regard  for  personal  ease  and  convenience,  now 
exposing  themselves  to  imminent  death,  with  a  courage 
that  kindled  with  the  thickening  horrors.  In  the  vain 
hope  of  inspiriting  the  men  to  drive  off  the  enemy  from 
the  flanks  and  regain  the  cannon,  they  would  dash  for 
ward  singly  or  in  groups.  They  were  invariably  shot 
down  •,  for  the  Indians  aimed  from  their  coverts  at  every 
one  on  horseback,  or  who  appeared  to  have  command. 

Some  were  killed  by  random  shot  of  their  own  men, 
who,  crowded  in  masses,  fired  with  affrighted  rapidity, 
but  without  aim.  Soldiers  in  the  front  ranks  were  killed 
by  those  in  the  rear.  Between  friend  and  foe,  the  slaugh 
ter  of  the  officers  was  terrible.  All  this  while  the  woods 
resounded  with  the  unearthly  yellings  of  the  savages,  and 
now  and  then  one  of  them,  hideously  painted,  and  ruf 
fling  with  feathered  crest,  would  rush  forth  to  scalp  an 
officer  who  had  fallen,  or  seize  a  horse  galloping  wildly 
without  a  rider. 


238  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Throughout  this  disastrous  day,  Washington  distin 
guished  himself  by  his  courage  and  presence  of  mind. 
His  brother  aids,  Orme  and  Morris,  were  wounded  and 
disabled  early  in  the  action,  and  the  whole  duty  of  carry 
ing  the  orders  of  the  general  devolved  on  him.  His  dan 
ger  was  imminent  and  incessant.  He  was  in  every  part 
of  the  field,  a  conspicuous  mark  for  the  murderous  rifle. 
Two  horses  were  shot  under  him.  Four  bullets  passed 
through  his  coat.  His  escape  without  a  wound  was 
almost  miraculous.  Dr.  Craik,  who  was  on  the  field  at 
tending  to  the  wounded,  watched  him  with  anxiety  as  he 
rode  about  in  the  most  exposed  manner,  and  used  to  say 
that  he  expected  every  moment  to  see  him  fall.  At  one 
time  he  was  sent  to  the  main  body  to  bring  the  artillery 
into  action.  All  there  was  likewise  in  confusion  ;  for  the 
Indians  had  extended  themselves  along  the  ravine  so  as  to 
flank  the  reserve  and  carry  slaughter  into  the  ranks.  Sir 
Peter  Halket  had  been  shot  down  at  the  head  of  his  regi 
ment.  The  men  who  should  have  served  the  guns  were 
paralyzed.  Had  they  raked  the  ravines  with  grape-shot 
the  day  might  have  been  saved.  In  his  ardor  Washington 
sprang  from  his  horse,  wheeled  and  pointed  a  brass  field- 
piece  with  his  own  hand,  and  directed  an  effective  dis 
charge  into  the  woods ;  but  neither  his  efforts  nor  example 
were  of  avail.  The  men  could  not  be  kept  to  the  guns. 

Braddock  still  remained  in  the  centre  of  the  field,  in 
the  desperate  hope  of  retrieving  the  fortunes  of  the  day. 
The  Virginia  rangers,  who  had  been  most  efficient  in 


ROUT  OF  THE  ARMY.  239 

covering  his  position,  were  nearly  all  killed  or  wounded. 
His  secretary,  Shirley,  had  fallen  by  his  side.  Many  of 
his  officers  had  been  slain  within  his  sight,  and  many  of 
his  guard  of  Virginia  light  horse.  Five  horses  had  been 
killed  under  him;  still  he  kept  his  ground,  vainly  en 
deavoring  to  check  the  flight  of  his  men,  or  at  least  to 
effect  their  retreat  in  good  order.  At  length  a  bullet 
passed  through  his  right  arm,  and  lodged  itself  in  his 
lungs.  He  fell  from  his  horse,  but  was  caught  by  Cap 
tain  Stewart  of  the  Virginia  guards,  who,  with  the  assist 
ance  of  another  American,  and  a  servant,  placed  him  in 
a  tumbril.  It  was  with  much  difficulty  they  got  him  out 
of  the  field — in  his  despair  he  desired  to  be  left  there. * 

The  rout  now  became  complete.  Baggage,  stores, 
artillery,  everything  was  abandoned.  The  wagoners  took 
each  a  horse  out  of  his  team,  and  fled.  The  officers  were 
swept  off  with  the  men  in  this  headlong  flight.  It  was 
rendered  more  precipitate  by  the  shouts  and  yells  of  the 
savages,  numbers  of  whom  rushed  forth  from  their  cov 
erts,  and  pursued  the  fugitives  to  the  river  side,  killing 
several  as  they  dashed  across  in  tumultuous  confusion. 
Fortunately  for  the  latter,  the  victors  gave  up  the  pursuit 
in  their  eagerness  to  collect  the  spoil. 

The  shattered  army  continued  its  flight  after  it  had 
crossed  the  Monongahela,  a  wretched  wreck  of  the  brill 
iant  little  force  that  had  recently  gleamed  along  its 

*  Journal  of  the  Seamen's  detachment. 


240  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

banks,  confident  of  victory.  Out  of  eighty-six  officers, 
twenty-six  had  been  killed,  and  thirty-six  wounded.  The 
number  of  rank  and  file  killed  and  wounded  was  upwards 
of  seven  hundred.  The  Virginia  corps  had  suffered  the 
most;  one  company  had  been  almost  annihilated,  an 
other,  beside  those  killed  and  wounded  in  the  ranks,  had 
lost  all  its  officers,  even  to  the  corporal. 

About  a  hundred  men  were  brought  to  a  halt  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  ford  of  the  river.  Here  was 
Braddock,  with  his  wounded  aides-de-camp  and  some  of 
his  officers,  Dr.  Craik  dressing  his  wounds,  and  Washing 
ton  attending  him  with  faithful  assiduity.  Braddock  was 
still  able  to  give  orders,  and  had  a  faint  hope  of  being 
able  to  keep  possession  of  the  ground  until  reinforced. 
Most  of  the  men  were  stationed  in  a  very  advantageous 
spot  about  two  hundred  yards  from  the  road  ;  and  Lieu 
tenant-colonel  Burton  posted  out  small  parties  and  sentin 
els.  Before  an  hour  had  elapsed  most  of  the  men  had 
stolen  off.  Being  thus  deserted,  Braddock  and  his  offi 
cers  continued  their  retreat ;  he  would  have  mounted  his 
horse,  but  was  unable,  and  had  to  be  carried  by  soldiers. 
Orme  and  Morris  were  placed  on  litters  borne  by  horses. 
They  were  subsequently  joined  by  Colonel  Gage  with 
eighty  men  whom  he  had  rallied. 

Washington,  in  the  meantime,  notwithstanding  his 
weak  state,  being  found  most  efficient  in  frontier  service, 
was  sent  to  Colonel  Dunbar's  camp,  forty  miles  distant, 
with  orders  for  him  to  hurry  forward  provisions,  hospital 


PANIC  IN  DUNBAKS  CAMP.  241 

stores,  and  wagons  for  the  wounded,  under  the  escort  ol 
two  grenadier  companies.  It  was  a  hard  and  a  melan 
choly  ride  throughout  the  night  and  the  following  day. 
The  tidings  of  the  defeat  preceded  him,  borne  by  the 
wagoners,  who  had  mounted  their  horses,  on  Braddock's 
fall,  and  fled  from  the  field  of  battle.  They  had  arrived, 
haggard,  at  Dunbar's  camp  at  mid-day ;  the  Indian  yells 
still  ringing  in  their  ears.  "  All  was  lost !  "  they  cried. 
"  Braddock  was  killed !  They  had  seen  wounded  officers 
borne  off  from  the  field  in  bloody  sheets !  The  troops 
were  all  cut  to  pieces ! "  A  panic  fell  upon  the  camp. 
The  drums  beat  to  arms.  Many  of  the  soldiers,  wagon 
ers,  and  attendants,  took  to  flight ;  but  most  of  them  were 
forced  back  by  the  sentinels. 

"Washington  arrived  at  the  camp  in  the  evening,  and 
found  the  agitation  still  prevailing.  The  orders  which  he 
brought  were  executed  during  the  night,  and  he  was  in 
the  saddle  early  in  the  morning  accompanying  the  convoy 
of  supplies.  At  Gist's  plantation,  about  thirteen  miles  off, 
he  met  Gage  and  his  scanty  force  escorting  Braddock  and 
his  wounded  officers.  Captain  Stewart  and  a  sad  remnant 
of  the  Virginia  light  horse  still  accompanied  the  general 
as  his  guard.  The  captain  had  been  unremitting  in  his 
attentions  to  him  during  the  retreat.  There  was  a  halt  of 
one  day  at  Dunbar's  camp  for  the  repose  and  relief  of 
the  wounded.  On  the  13th  they  resumed  their  melan 
choly  march,  and  that  night  reached  the  Great  Meadows. 

The  proud  spirit  of  Braddock  was  broken  by  his  de- 
VOL.  i. — 16 


242  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

feat.  He  remained  silent  the  first  evening  after  the  bat 
tie,  only  ejaculating  at  night,  "  Who  would  have  thought 
it !  "  He  was  equally  silent  the  following  day ;  yet  hope 
still  seemed  to  linger  in  his  breast,  from  another  ejacula' 
tion:  "We  shall  better  know  how  to  deal  with  them 
another  time !  "  * 

He  was  grateful  for  the  attentions  paid  to  him  by  Cap 
tain  Stewart  and  Washington,  and  more  than  once,  it  is 
said,  expressed  his  admiration  of  the  gallantry  displayed 
by  the  Virginians  in  the  action.  It  is  said,  moreover,  that 
in  his  last  moments,  he  apologized  to  Washington  for  the 
petulance  with  which  he  had  rejected  his  advice,  and  be 
queathed  to  him  his  favorite  charger,  and  his  faithful  ser 
vant,  Bishop,  who  had  helped  to  convey  him  from  the  field. 

Some  of  these  facts,  it  is  true,  rest  on  tradition,  yet  we 
are  willing  to  believe  them,  as  they  impart  a  gleam  of 
just  and  generous  feeling  to  his  closing  scene.  He  died 
on  the  night  of  the  13th,  at  the  Great  Meadows,  the  place 
of  Washington's  discomfiture  in  the  previous  year.  His 
obsequies  were  performed  before  break  of  day.  The 
chaplain  having  been  wounded,  Washington  read  the 
funeral  service.  All  was  done  in  sadness,  and  without 
parade,  so  as  not  to  attract  the  attention  of  lurking  sav 
ages,  who  might  discover  and  outrage  his  grave.  It  is 

*  Captain  Ormc,  who  gave  these  particulars  to  Dr.  Franklin,  says  that 
Braddock  "  died  a  few  minutes  after."  This,  according  to  his  account, 
was  on  the  second  day  ;  whereas  the  general  survived  upwards  of  four 
days.  Orrae,  being  conveyed  on  a  Jitter  at  some  distance  from  the  gen 
eral,  could  only  speak  of  his  moods  from  hearsay. 


CAUSES  OF  BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT.  243 

doubtful  even  whether  a  volley  was  fired  over  it,  that  last 
military  honor  which  he  had  recently  paid  to  the  remains 
of  an  Indian  warrior.  The  place  of  his  sepulture,  how 
ever,  is  still  known,  and  pointed  out. 

Reproach  spared  him  not,  even  when  in  his  grave. 
The  failure  of  the  expedition  was  attributed,  both  in 
England  and  America,  to  his  obstinacy,  his  technical 
pedantry,  and  his  military  conceit.  He  had  been  con 
tinually  warned  to  be  on  his  guard  against  ambush  and 
surprise,  but  without  avail.  Had  he  taken  the  advice 
urged  on  him  by  Washington  and  others,  to  employ 
scouting  parties  of  Indians  and  rangers,  he  would  never 
have  been  so  signally  surprised  and  defeated. 

Still  his  dauntless  conduct  on  the  field  of  battle  shows 
him  to  have  been  a  man  of  fearless  spirit ;  and  he  was 
universally  allowed  to  be  an  accomplished  disciplinarian. 
His  melancholy  end,  too,  disarms  censure  of  its  asperity. 
Whatever  may  have  been  his  faults  and  errors,  he  in  a 
manner  expiated  them  by  the  hardest  lot  that  can  befall 
a  brave  soldier,  ambitious  of  renown — an  unhonored 
grave  in  a  strange  land ;  a  memory  clouded  by  misfortune 
and  a  name  forever  coupled  with  defeat. 

NOTE. 

In  narrating  the  expedition  of  Braddock,  we  have  frequently  cited  the 
/mrnals  of  Captain  Orme  and  of  the  "Seamen's  detachment."  They 
v^ere  procured  in  England  by  the  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Ingersoll,  while  Minis 
ter  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  recently  published  by  the  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania,  ably  edited  and  illustrated  with  an  admirable 
Introductory  Memoir  by  Winthrop  Sargent,  Esq.,  member  of  that  Society. 


CHAPTEB  XVII. 


ARRIVAL  AT  FORT  CUMBERLAND.— LETTERS  OP  WASHINGTON  TO    HIS  FAMILY 
—PANIC   OF  DUNBAR. 


HE  obsequies  of  the  unfortunate  Braddock  be 
ing  finished,  the  escort  continued  its  retreat 
with  the  sick  and  wounded.  Washington,  as 
sisted  by  Dr.  Craik,  watched  with  assiduity  over  his 
comrades,  Orme  and  Morris.  As  the  horses  which  bore 
their  litters  were  nearly  knocked  up,  he  despatched  mes 
sengers  to  the  commander  of  Fort  Cumberland  request 
ing  that  others  might  be  sent  on,  and  that  comfortable 
quarters  might  be  prepared  for  the  reception  of  those 
officers. 

On  the  17th,  the  sad  cavalcade  reached  the  fort,  and 
were  relieved  from  the  incessant  apprehension  of  pursuit. 
Here,  too,  flying  reports  had  preceded  them,  brought  by 
fugitives  from  the  battle  ;  who,  with  the  disposition  usual 
in  such  cases  to  exaggerate,  had  represented  the  whole 
army  as  massacred.  Fearing  these  reports  might  reach 
home,  and  affect  his  family,  Washington  wrote  to  his 
mother,  and  his  brother,  John  Augustine,  apprising  them 
of  his  safety.  "  The  Virginia  troops,"  says  he,  in  a  letter 

244 


WASHINGTON   WRITES  HOME.  245 

to  his  mother,  "  showed  a  good  deal  of  bravery,  and  were 

nearly  all  killed The  dastardly  behavior  of  those 

they  called  regulars  exposed  all  others,  that  were  or 
dered  to  do  their  duty,  to  almost  certain  death ;  and,  at 
last,  in  despite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  officers  to  the  con 
trary,  they  ran,  as  sheep  pursued  by  dogs,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  rally  them." 

To  his  brother  he  writes  :  "  As  I  have  heard,  since  my 
arrival  at  this  place,  a  circumstantial  account  of  my 
death  and  dying  speech,  I  take  this  early  opportunity  of 
contradicting  the  first,  and  of  assuring  you  that  I  have 
not  composed  the  latter.  But,  by  the  all-powerful  dis 
pensations  of  Providence,  I  have  been  protected  beyond 
all  human  probability,  or  expectation;  for  I  had  four 
bullets  through  my  coat,  and  two  horses  shot  under  me, 
yet  escaped  unhurt,  though  death  was  leveling  my  com 
panions  on  every  side  of  me  ! 

"  We  have  been  most  scandalously  beaten  by  a  trifling 
body  of  men ;  but  fatigue  and  want  of  time  prevent  me 
from  giving  you  any  of  the  details,  until  I  have  the  hap 
piness  of  seeing  you  at  Mount  Vernon,  which  I  now  most 
earnestly  wish  for,  since  we  are  driven  in  thus  far.  A 
feeble  state  of  health  obliges  me  to  halt  here  for  two 
or  three  days  to  recover  a  little  strength,  that  I  may 
thereby  be  enabled  to  proceed  homeward  with  more 
ease." 

Dunbar  arrived  shortly  afterward  with  the  remainder 
of  the  army.  No  one  seems  to  have  shared  more  largely 


246  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

in  the  panic  of  the  vulgar  than  that  officer.  From  the 
moment  he  received  tidings  of  the  defeat,  his  camp  be 
came  a  scene  of  confusion.  All  the  ammunition,  stores, 
and  artillery  were  destroyed,  to  prevent,  it  was  said,  their 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy ;  but  as  it  was  after 
wards  alleged,  to  relieve  the  terror-stricken  commander 
from  all  incumbrances,  and  furnish  him  with  more  horses 
in  his  flight  toward  the  settlements.* 

At  Cumberland  his  forces  amounted  to  fifteen  hundred 
effective  men;  enough  for  a  brave  stand  to  protect  the 
frontier,  and  recover  some  of  the  lost  honor;  but  he 
merely  paused  to  leave  the  sick  and  wounded  under  care 
of  two  Virginia  and  Maryland  companies,  and  some  of 
the  train,  and  then  continued  his  hasty  march,  or  rather 
flight,  through  the  country,  not  thinking  himself  safe,  as 
was  sneeringly  intimated,  until  he  arrived  in  Philadelphia, 
where  the  inhabitants  could  protect  him. 

The  true  reason  why  the  enemy  did  not  pursue  the 
retreating  army  was  not  known  until  some  time  after 
wards,  and  added  to  the  disgrace  of  the  defeat.  They 
were  not  the  main  force  of  the  French,  but  a  mere  de 
tachment  of  72  regulars,  146  Canadians,  and  637  Indians, 
855  in  all,  led  by  Captain  de  Beaujeu.  De  Contrecceur, 
the  commander  of  Fort  Duquesne,  had  received  informa 
tion,  through  his  scouts,  that  the  English,  three  thousand 
strong,  were  within  six  leagues  of  his  fort.  Despairing 

*  Franklin's  Autobiography. 


BEAUJEU'S  DETACHMENT.  247 

of  making  an  effectual  defense  against  such  a  superior 
force,  he  was  balancing  in  his  mind  whether  to  abandon 
his  fort  without  awaiting  their  arrival,  or  to  capitulate  on 
honorable  terms.  In  this  dilemma  Beaujeu  prevailed  on 
him  to  let  him  sally  forth  with  a  detachment  to  form  an 
ambush,  and  give  check  to  the  enemy.  De  Beaujeu  was 
to  have  taken  post  at  the  river,  and  disputed  the  passage 
at  the  ford.  For  that  purpose  he  was  hurrying  forward 
when  discovered  by  the  pioneers  of  Gage's  advance  party. 
He  was  a  gallant  officer,  and  fell  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fight.  The  whole  number  of  killed  and  wounded  of  French 
and  Indians,  did  not  exceed  seventy. 

Such  was  the  scanty  force  which  the  imagination  of  the 
panic-stricken  army  had  magnified  into  a  great  host,  and 
from  which  they  had  fled  in  breathless  terror,  abandoning 
the  whole  frontier.  No  one  could  be  more  surprised  than 
the  French  commander  himself,  when  the  ambuscading 
party  returned  in  triumph  with  a  long  train  of  pack-horses 
laden  with  booty,  the  savages  uncouthly  clad  in  the  gar 
ments  of  the  slain,  grenadier  caps,  officers'  gold-laced 
coats,  and  glittering  epaulettes;  flourishing  swords  and 
sabres,  or  firing  off  muskets,  and  uttering  fiendlike  yells 
of  victory.  But  when  De  Centre coeur  was  informed  of  the 
utter  rout  and  destruction  of  the  much  dreaded  British 
army,  his  joy  was  complete.  He  ordered  the  guns  of  the 
fort  to  be  fired  in  triumph,  and  sent  out  troops  in  pursuit 
of  the  fugitives. 

The  affair  of  Braddock  remains  a  memorable  event  in 


248  MFE  °F  WASHINGTON. 

American  history,  and  has  been  characterized  as  "  the 
most  extraordinary  victory  ever  obtained,  and  the  furthest 
flight  ever  made."  It  struck  a  fatal  blow  to  the  deference 
for  British  prowess,  which  once  amounted  almost  to  big 
otry  throughout  the  provinces.  "  This  whole  transaction," 
observes  Franklin,  in  his  autobiography,  "gave  us  the 
first  suspicion  that  our  exalted  ideas  of  the  prowess  oi 
British  regular  troops  had  not  beer,  well  founded." 


CHAPTEK  XVIIL 


COSTS  OF  CAMPAIGNING. — MEASURES  FOR  PUBLIC  SAFETY. — WASHINGTON  IK 
COMMAND. — HEAD-QUARTERS  AT  WINCHESTER.  —  LORD  FAIRFAX  AND  HIS 
TBOOP  OF  HORSE.— INDIAN  RAVAGES.— PANIC  AT  WINCHESTER.— CAUSE  OFTHB 
ALARM. — OPERATIONS  ELSEWHERE. — SHIRLEY  AGAINST  NIAGARA. — JOHNSON 
AGAINST  CROWN  POINT. — AFFAIR  AT  LAKE  GEORGE. — DEATH  OF  DIESKAU. 


ASHINGTON  arrived  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the 
26th  of  July,  still  in  feeble  condition  from  his 
long  illness.  His  campaigning,  thus  far,  had 
trenched  upon  his  private  fortune,  and  impaired  one  oi 
the  best  of  constitutions. 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother  Augustine,  then  a  member  of 
Assembly  at  Williamsburg,  he  casts  up  the  result  of  his 
frontier  experience.  "I  was  employed,"  he  writes,  "  to 
go  a  journey  in  the  winter,  when  I  believe  few  or  none 
would  have  undertaken  it,  and  what  did  I  get  by  it? — my 
expenses  borne  !  I  was  then  appointed,  with  trifling  pay, 
to  conduct  a  handful  of  men  to  the  Ohio.  What  did  I  get 
by  that?  Why,  after  putting  myself  to  a  considerable 
expense  in  equipping  and  providing  necessaries  for  the 
campaign,  I  went  out,  was  soundly  beaten,  and  lost  all ! 
Came  in,  and  had  my  commission  taken  from  me,  or,  in 
other  words,  my  command  reduced,  under  pretense  of  an 

249 


250  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

order  from  home  (England).  I  then  went  out  a  volunteer 
with  General  Braddock,  and  lost  all  my  horses,  and  many 
other  things.  But  this  being  a  voluntary  act,  I  ought  not 
to  have  mentioned  it ;  nor  should  I  have  done  it,  were  it 
not  to  show  that  I  have  been  on  the  losing  order  ever 
since  I  entered  the  service,  which  is  now  nearly  two 
years." 

What  a  striking  lesson  is  furnished  by  this  brief  sum 
mary  !  How  little  was  he  aware  of  the  vast  advantages 
he  was  acquiring  in  this  school  of  bitter  experience ! 
"In  the  hand  of  Heaven  he  stood,"  to  be  shaped  and 
trained  for  its  great  purpose  ;  and  every  trial  and  vicissi 
tude  of  his  early  life  but  fitted  him  to  cope  with  one  or 
other  of  the  varied  and  multifarious  duties  of  his  future 
destiny. 

But  though  under  the  saddening  influence  of  debility 
and  defeat,  he  might  count  the  cost  of  his  campaigning, 
the  martial  spirit  still  burned  within  him.  His  connec 
tion  with  the  army,  it  is  true,  had  ceased  at  the  death  of 
Braddock,  but  his  military  duties  continued  as  adjutant- 
general  of  the  northern  division  of  the  province,  and  he 
immediately  issued  orders  for  the  county  lieutenants  to 
hold  the  militia  in  readiness  for  parade  and  exercise, 
foreseeing  that,  in  the  present  defenseless  state  of  the 
frontier,  there  would  be  need  of  their  services. 

Tidings  of  the  rout  and  retreat  of  the  army  had  circu 
lated  far  and  near,  and  spread  consternation  throughout 
tfo  country.  Immediate  incursions  both  of  French  and 


MEASURES  FOR  PUBLIC  SAFETY.  251 

Indians  were  apprehended;  and  volunteer  companies 
began  to  form,  for  the  purpose  of  marching  across  the 
mountains  to  the  scene  of  danger.  It  was  intimated  to 
Washington  that  his  services  would  again  be  wanted  OD 
the  frontier.  He  declared  instantly  that  he  was  ready  to 
serve  his  country  to  the  extent  of  his  powers ;  but  never 
on  the  same  terms  as  heretofore. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  Governor  Dinwiddie  convened 
the  Assembly  to  devise  measures  for  the  public  safety. 
The  sense  of  danger  had  quickened  the  slow  patriotism 
of  the  burgesses ;  they  no  longer  held  back  supplies ; 
forty  thousand  pounds  were  promptly  voted,  and  orders 
issued  for  the  raising  of  a  regiment  of  one  thousand  men. 

Washington's  friends  urged  him  to  present  himself 
at  Williamsburg  as  a  candidate  for  the  command ;  they 
were  confident  of  his  success,  notwithstanding  that  strong 
interest  was  making  for  the  governor's  favorite,  Colonel 
Innes. 

With  mingled  modesty  and  pride,  Washington  declined 
to  be  a  solicitor.  The  only  terms,  he  said,  on  which  he 
would  accept  a  command,  were  a  certainty  as  to  rank 
and  emoluments,  a  right  to  appoint  his  field-officers,  and 
the  supply  of  a  sufficient  military  chest ;  but  to  solicit 
the  command,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  make  stipula 
tions,  would  be  a  little  incongruous,  and  carry  with  it 
the  face  of  self-sufficiency.  "If,"  added  he,  "the  com 
mand  should  be  offered  to  me,  the  case  will  then  be 
altered,  as  I  should  be  at  liberty  to  make  such  objee- 


252  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

tions  as  reason,  and  my  small  experience,  have  pointed 
out." 

While  this  was  in  agitation,  he  received  letters  from 
his  mother,  again  imploring  him  not  to  risk  himself  in 
these  frontier  wars.  His  answer  was  characteristic, 
blending  the  filial  deference  with  which  he  was  accus 
tomed  from  childhood  to  treat  her,  with  a  calm  patriot 
ism  of  the  Roman  stamp. 

"  Honored  Madam  :  If  it  is  in  my  power  to  avoid  going 
to  the  Ohio  again,  I  shall ;  but  if  the  command  is  pressed 
upon  me  by  the  general  voice  of  the  country,  and  offered 
upon  such  terms  as  cannot  be  objected  against,  it  would 
reflect  dishonor  on  me  to  refuse  it ;  and  that,  I  am  sure, 
must,  and  ought,  to  give  you  greater  uneasiness  than  my 
going  in  an  honorable  command.  Upon  no  other  terms 
will  I  accept  it.  At  present  I  have  no  proposals  made 
to  me,  nor  have  I  any  advice  of  such  an  intention,  except 
from  private  hands." 

On  the  very  day  that  this  letter  was  despatched  (Aug. 
14th),  he  received  intelligence  of  his  appointment  to  the 
command  on  the  terms  specified  in  his  letters  to  his 
friends.  His  commission  nominated  him  commander-in- 
chief  of  all  the  forces  raised,  or  to  be  raised  in  the 
colony.  The  Assembly  also  voted  three  hundred  pounds 
to  him,  and  proportionate  sums  to  the  other  officers,  and 
to  the  privates  of  the  Virginia  companies,  in  considera 
tion  of  their  gallant  conduct,  and  their  L  ^sses  in  the  late 
battle. 


DINWIDDIE'S   UNKINDNE88.  253 

The  officers  next  in  command  under  him  were  Lieu- 
fcenant-colonel  Adam  Stephen,  and  Major  Andrew  Lewis. 
The  former,  it  will  be  recollected,  had  been  with  him  in 
the  unfortunate  affair  at  the  Great  Meadows ;  his  advance 
in  rank  shows  that  his  conduct  had  been  meritorious. 

The  appointment  of  Washington  to  his  present  station 
was  the  more  gratifying  and  honorable  from  being  a 
popular  one,  made  in  deference  to  public  sentiment ;  to 
which  Governor  Dinwiddie  was  obliged  to  sacrifice  his 
strong  inclination  in  favor  of  Colonel  Innes.  It  is 
thought  that  the  governor  never  afterwards  regarded 
Washington  with  a  friendly  eye.  His  conduct  towards 
him  subsequently  was  on  various  occasions  cold  and 
ungracious.* 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  early  popularity  of  Wash 
ington  was  not  the  result  of  brilliant  achievements  nor 
signal  success ;  on  the  contrary,  it  rose  among  trials  and 
reverses,  and  may  almost  be  said  to  have  been  the  fruit 
of  defeats.  It  ramains  an  honorable  testimony  of  Vir 
ginian  intelligence,  that  the  sterling,  enduring,  but 
undazzling  qualities  of  Washington  were  thus  early  dis 
cerned  and  appreciated,  though  only  heralded  by  misfor 
tunes.  The  admirable  manner  in  which  he  had  conducted 
himself  under  these  misfortunes,  and  the  sagacity  and 
practical  wisdom  he  had  displayed  on  all  occasions,  were 
universally  acknowledged  ;  and  it  was  observed  that,  had 

*  Sparks'  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  161,  note. 


254  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

his  modest  counsels  been  adopted  by  the  unfortunate 
Braddock,  a  totally  different  result  might  have  attended 
the  late  campaign. 

An  instance  of  this  high  appreciation  of  his  merits 
occurs  in  a  sermon  preached  on  the  17th  of  August  by 
the  Eev.  Samuel  Davis,  wherein  he  cites  him  as  "  that 
heroic  youth,  Colonel  Washington,  whom  I  cannot  but  hope 
Providence  has  hitherto  preserved  in  so  signal  a  manner  for 
some  important  service  to  his  country"  The  expressions  of 
the  worthy  clergyman  may  have  been  deemed  enthusias 
tic  at  the  time ;  viewed  in  connection  with  subsequent 
events  they  appear  almost  prophetic. 

Having  held  a  conference  with  Governor  Dinwiddie  at 
Williamsburg,  and  received  his  instructions,  "Washington 
repaired,  on  the  14th  of  September,  to  Winchester,  where 
he  fixed  his  head-quarters.  It  was  a  place  as  yet  of  tri 
fling  magnitude,  but  important  from  its  position ;  being 
a  central  point  where  the  main  roads  met,  leading  from 
north  to  south,  and  east  to  west,  and  commanding  the 
channels  of  traffic  and  communication  between  some  of 
the  most  important  colonies  and  a  great  extent  of  frontier. 

Here  he  was  brought  into  frequent  and  cordial  commu 
nication  with  his  old  friend  Lord  Fairfax.  The  stir  of 
war  had  revived  a  spark  of  that  military  fire  which  ani 
mated  the  veteran  nobleman  in  the  days  of  his  youth, 
when  an  officer  in  the  cavalry  regiment  of  the  Blues. 
He  was  lord-lieutenant  of  the  county.  Greenway  Court 
was  his  head-quarters.  He  had  organized  a  troop  of 


FRESH  ALARMS.  255 

horse,  which  occasionally  was  exercised  about  the  lawn 
of  his  domain,  and  he  was  now  as  prompt  to  mount  his 
steed  for  a  cavalry  parade  as  he  ever  was  for  a  fox  chase. 
The  arrival  of  Washington  frequently  brought  the  old 
nobleman  to  Winchester  to  aid  the  young  commander 
with  his  counsels  or  his  sword. 

His  services  were  soon  put  in  requisition.  Washington, 
having  visited  the  frontier  posts,  established  recruiting 
places,  and  taken  other  measures  of  security,  had  set  off 
for  Williamsburg  on  military  business,  when  an  express 
arrived  at  Winchester  from  Colonel  Stephen,  who  com 
manded  at  Fort  Cumberland,  giving  the  alarm  that  a 
body  of  Indians  were  ravaging  the  country,  burning  the 
houses,  and  slaughtering  the  inhabitants.  The  express 
was  instantly  forwarded  after  Washington ;  in  the  mean 
time,  Lord  Fairfax  sent  out  orders  for  the  militia  of  Fair 
fax  and  Prince  William  counties  to  arm  and  hasten  to 
the  defense  of  Winchester,  where  all  was  confusion  and 
affright  One  fearful  account  followed  another.  The 
whole  country  beyond  it  was  said  to  be  at  the  mercy  of 
the  savages.  They  had  blockaded  the  rangers  in  the 
little  fortresses  or  outposts  provided  for  the  protection 
of  neighborhoods.  They  were  advancing  upon  Winches 
ter  with  fire,  tomahawk,  and  scalping-knife.  The  country 
people  were  flocking  into  the  town  for  safety — the  towns 
people  were  moving  off  to  the  settlements  beyond  the 
Blue  Bidge.  The  beautiful  valley  of  the  Shenandoah 
Was  likely  to  become  a  scene  of  savage  desolation. 


256  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  the  height  of  the  confusion  Washington  rode  into 
the  town.  He  had  been  overtaken  by  Colonel  Stephen's 
express.  His  presence  inspired  some  degree  of  confi 
dence,  and  he  succeeded  in  stopping  most  of  the  fugi 
tives.  He  would  have  taken  the  field  at  once  against  the 
savages,  believing  their  numbers  to  be  few ;  but  not  more 
than  twenty-five  of  the  militia  could  be  mustered  for  the 
service.  The  rest  refused  to  stir — they  would  rather  die 
with  their  wives  and  children. 

Expresses  were  sent  off  to  hurry  up  the  militia  ordered 
out  by  Lord  Fairfax.  Scouts  were  ordered  out  to  discover 
the  number  of  the  foe,  and  convey  assurances  of  succor  to 
the  rangers  said  to  be  blocked  up  in  the  fortresses,  though 
"Washington  suspected  the  latter  to  be  "more  encom 
passed  by  fear  than  by  the  enemy."  Smiths  were  set  to 
work  to  furbish  up  and  repair  such  fire-arms  as  were  in 
the  place,  and  wagons  were  sent  off  for  musket  balls, 
flints,  and  provisions. 

Instead,  however,  of  animated  cooperation,  Washington 
was  encountered  by  difficulties  at  every  step.  The  wag 
ons  in  question  had  to  be  impressed,  and  the  wagoners 
compelled  by  force  to  assist.  "  No  orders,"  writes  he, 
"are  obeyed,  but  such  as  a  party  of  soldiers  or  my  own 
drawn  sword  enforces.  Without  this,  not  a  single  horse, 
for  the  most  earnest  occasion,  can  be  had — to  such  a 
pitch  has  the  insolence  of  these  people  arrived,  by  having 
every  point  hitherto  submitted  to  them.  However,  I  have 
given  up  none,  where  His  Majesty's  service  requires  the 


A  SCARE.  257 

contrary,  and  where  my  proceedings  are  justified  oy  my 
instructions;  nor  will  I,  unless  they  execute  what  they 
threaten — that  is,  blow  out  our  brains." 

One  is  tempted  to  smile  at  this  tirade  about  the  "  inso~ 
lence  of  the  people,"  and  this  zeal  for  "His  Majesty's 
service,"  on  the  part  of  Washington ;  but  he  was  as  yet  a 
young  man  and  a  young  officer;  loyal  to  his  sovereign, 
and  with  high  notions  of  military  authority,  which  he  had 
acquired  in  the  camp  of  Braddock. 

What  he  thus  terms  insolence  was  the  dawning  spirit 
of  independence,  which  he  was  afterwards  the  foremost  to 
cherish  and  promote  ;  and  which,  in  the  present  instance, 
had  been  provoked  by  the  rough  treatment  from  the  mili 
tary,  which  the  wagoners  and  others  of  the  yeomanry  had 
experienced  when  employed  in  Braddock's  campaign,  and 
by  the  neglect  to  pay  them  for  their  services.  Much  of 
Washington's  difficulties  also  arose,  doubtlessly,  from  the 
inefficiency  of  the  military  laws,  for  an  amendment  of 
which  he  had  in  vain  made  repeated  applications  to  Gov 
ernor  Dinwiddie. 

In  the  meantime  the  panic  and  confusion  increased. 
On  Sunday  an  express  hurried  into  town,  breathless  with 
haste  and  terror.  The  Indians,  he  said,  were  but  twelve 
miles  off ;  they  had  attacked  the  house  of  Isaac  Julian ; 
the  inhabitants  were  flying  for  their  lives.  Washington 
immediately  ordered  the  town  guards  to  be  strengthened ; 
armed  some  recruits  who  had  just  arrived,  and  sent  out 

two  scouts  to  reconnoiter  the  enemy.     It  was  a  sleeplesa 
vpj,.  1.^17 


258  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

night  in  Winchester.  Horror  increased  with  the  dawn; 
before  the  men  could  be  paraded  a  second  express  ar 
rived,  ten  times  more  terrified  than  the  former.  The 
Indians  were  within  four  miles  of  the  town,  killing  and 
destroying  all  before  them.  He  had  heard  the  constant 
firing  of  the  savages  and  the  shrieks  of  their  victims. 

The  terror  of  Winchester  now  passed  all  bounds. 
Washington  put  himself  at  the  head  of  about  forty  men, 
militia  and  recruits,  and  pushed  for  the  scene  of  car 
nage. 

The  result  is  almost  too  ludicrous  for  record.  The 
whole  cause  of  the  alarm  proved  to  be  three  drunken 
troopers,  carousing,  hallooing,  uttering  the  most  unheard 
of  imprecations,  and  ever  and  anon  firing  off  their  pis 
tols.  Washington  interrupted  them  in  the  midst  of  their 
revel  and  blasphemy,  and  conducted  them  prisoners  to 
town. 

The  reported  attack  on  the  house  of  Isaac  Julian  proved 
equally  an  absurd  exaggeration.  The  ferocious  party 
of  Indians  turned  out  to  be  a  mulatto  and  a  negro  in 
quest  of  cattle.  They  had  been  seen  by  a  child  of  Ju 
lian,  who  alarmed  his  father,  who  alarmed  the  neighbor 
hood. 

"  These  circumstances,"  says  Washington,  "  show  what 
a  panic  prevails  among  the  people ;  how  much  they  are 
all  alarmed  at  the  most  usual  and  customary  cries ;  and 
yet  how  impossible  it  is  to  get  them  to  act  in  any  respect 
for  their  common  safety," 


EETREAT  OF  THE  INDIANS.  259 

They  certainly  present  a  lively  picture  of  the  feverish 
state  of  a  frontier  community,  hourly  in  danger  of  Indian 
ravage  and  butchery ;  than  which  no  kind  of  warfare  is 
more  fraught  with  real  and  imaginary  horrors. 

The  alarm  thus  originating  had  spread  throughout  the 
country.  A  captain,  who  arrived  with  recruits  from 
Alexandria,  reported  that  he  had  found  the  road  across 
the  Blue  Eidge  obstructed  by  crowds  of  people  flying  for 
their  lives,  whom  he  endeavored  in  vain  to  stop.  They 
declared  that  Winchester  was  in  flames ! 

At  length  the  band  of  Indians,  whose  ravages  had  pro 
duced  this  consternation  throughout  the  land,  and  whose 
numbers  did  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty,  being 
satiated  with  carnage,  conflagration,  and  plunder,  re 
treated,  bearing  off  spoils  and  captives.  Intelligent 
scouts  sent  out  by  Washington,  followed  their  traces,  and 
brought  back  certain  intelligence  that  they  had  re  crossed 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  returned  to  their  homes  on 
the  Ohio.  This  report  allayed  the  public  panic,  and 
restored  temporary  quiet  to  the  harassed  frontier. 

Most  of  the  Indians  engaged  in  these  ravages  were 
Delawares  and  Shawnees,  who,  since  Braddock's  defeat, 
had  been  gained  over  by  the  French.  A  principal  insti 
gator  was  said  to  be  Washington's  old  acquaintance, 
Shengis,  and  a  reward  was  offered  for  his  head. 

Scarooyadi,  successor  to  the  half-king,  remained  true 
to  the  English,  and  vindicated  his  people  to  the  Gov 
ernor  and  Council  of  Pennsylvania  from  the  charge  of 


260  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

having  had  any  share  in  the  late  massacres.  As  to  tlie 
defeat  at  the  Monongahela,  "  it  was  owing,"  he  said,  "  to 
the  pride  and  ignorance  of  that  great  general  (Braddock) 
that  came  from  England.  He  is  now  dead ;  but  he  was 
a  bad  man  when  he  was  alive.  He  looked  upon  us  as 
dogs,  and  would  never  hear  anything  that  was  said  to 
him.  We  often  endeavored  to  advise  him,  and  tell  him 
of  the  danger  he  was  in  with  his  soldiers ;  but  he  never 
appeared  pleased  with  us,  and  that  was  the  reason  that  a 
great  many  of  our  warriors  left  him."  * 

Scarooyadi  was  ready  with  his  warriors  to  take  up  the 
hatchet  again  with  their  English  brothers  against  the 
French.  "  Let  us  unite  our  strength,"  said  he ;  "you  are 
numerous,  and  all  the  English  governors  along  your  sea 
shore  can  raise  men  enough ;  but  don't  let  those  that 
come  from  over  the  great  seas  be  concerned  any  more. 
They  are  unfit  to  fight  in  the  woods.  Let  us  go  ourselves — 
we  that  came  out  of  this  ground." 

No  one  felt  more  strongly  than  Washington  the  impor 
tance,  at  this  trying  juncture,  of  securing  the  assistance 
of  these  forest  warriors.  "  It  is  in  their  power,"  said  he, 
"to  be  of  infinite  use  to  us;  and  without  Indians,  we 
shall  never  be  able  to  cope  with  these  cruel  foes  to  our 
country."  t 

Washington  had  now  time  to  inform  himself  of  the  fate 
of  the  other  enterprises  included  in  this  year's  plan  of 

*  Hazard's  Register  of  P&rm.  v.  252,  366. 
f  Letter  to  Dinwiddie. 


OPERATIONS  ELSEWHERE.  261 

military  operations.  "We  shall  briefly  dispose  of  them, 
for  the  sake  of  carrying  on  the  general  course  of  events. 
The  history  of  Washington  is  linked  with  the  history  of 
the  colonies.  The  defeat  of  Braddock  paralyzed  the 
expedition  against  Niagara.  Many  of  General  Shirley's 
troops,  which  were  assembled  at  Albany,  struck  with  the 
consternation  which  it  caused  throughout  the  country, 
deserted.  Most  of  the  bateau  men,  who  were  to  trans 
port  stores  by  various  streams,  returned  home.  It  was 
near  the  end  of  August  before  Shirley  was  in  force  at 
Oswego.  Time  was  lost  in  building  boats  for  the  lake. 
Storms  and  head  winds  ensued ;  then  sickness  :  military 
incapacity  in  the  general  completed  the  list  of  impedi 
ments.  Deferring  the  completion  of  the  enterprise  until 
the  following  year,  Shirley  returned  to  Albany  with  the 
main  part  of  his  forces  in  October,  leaving  about  seven 
hundred  men  to  garrison  the  fortifications  he  had  com 
menced  at  Oswego. 

To  General  William  Johnson,  it  will  be  recollected, 
had  been  confided  the  expedition  against  Crown  Point, 
on  Lake  Champlain.  Preparations  were  made  for  it  in 
Albany,  whence  the  troops  were  to  march,  and  the  artil 
lery,  ammunition,  and  stores  to  be  conveyed  up  the  Hud 
son  to  the  carrying-place  between  that  river  and  Lake  St 
Sacrament,  as  it  was  termed  by  the  French,  but  Lake 
George,  as  Johnson  named  it,  in  honor  of  his  sovereign. 
At  the  carrying-place  a  fort  was  commenced,  subsequently 
called  Fort  Edward.  Part  of  the  troops  remained  under 


262  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

General  Lyman,  to  complete  and  garrison  it;  the  main 
force  proceeded  under  General  Johnson  to  Lake  George, 
the  plan  being  to  descend  that  lake  to  its  outlet  at  Ticon- 
deroga,  in  Lake  Champlain.  Having  to  attend  the  arrival 
of  bateaux  forwarded  for  the  purpose  from  Albany  by  the 
carrying-place,  Johnson  encamped  at  the  south  end  of  the 
lake.  He  had  with  him  between  five  and  six  thousand 
troops  of  New  York  and  New  England,  and  a  host  of 
Mohawk  warriors,  loyally  devoted  to  him. 

It  so  happened  that  a  French  force  of  upwards  of  three 
thousand  men,  under  the  Baron  de  Dieskau,  an  old  gen 
eral  of  high  reputation,  had  recently  arrived  at  Quebec, 
destined  against  Oswego.  The  baron  had  proceeded  to 
Montreal,  and  sent  forward  thence  seven  hundred  of  his 
troops,  when  news  arrived  of  the  army  gathering  on  Lake 
George  for  the  attack  on  Crown  Point,  perhaps  for  an  in 
road  into  Canada.  The  public  were  in  consternation  ; 
yielding  to  their  importunities,  the  baron  took  post  at 
Crown  Point  for  its  defense.  Beside  his  regular  troops, 
he  had  with  him  eight  hundred  Canadians,  and  seven 
hundred  Indians  of  different  tribes.  The  latter  were  un 
der  the  general  command  of  the  Chevalier  Legardeur  de 
St.  Pierre,  the  veteran  officer  to  whom  Washington  had 
delivered  the  despatches  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  on  his 
diplomatic  mission  to  the  frontier.  The  chevalier  was  a 
man  of  great  influence  among  the  Indians. 

In  the  meantime  Johnson  remained  encamped  at  the 
south  end  of  Lake  George,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  hk 


SKIRMISH  WITH  THE  FRENGH.  263 

bateaux.  The  camp  was  protected  in  the  rear  by  the 
lake,  in  front  by  a  bulwark  of  felled  trees  ;  and  was 
Hanked  by  thickly  wooded  swamps. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  the  Indian  scouts  brought 
word  that  they  had  discovered  three  large  roads  made 
through  the  forests  toward  Fort  Edward.  An  attack  on 
that  post  was  apprehended.  Adams,  a  hardy  wagoner, 
rode  express  with  orders  to  the  commander  to  draw  all 
the  troops  within  the  works.  About  midnight  came 
other  scouts.  They  had  seen  the  French  within  four 
miles  of  the  carrying-place.  They  had  heard  the  report 
of  a  musket,  and  the  voice  of  a  man  crying  for  mercy, 
supposed  to  be  the  unfortunate  Adams.  In  the  morning 
Colonel  Williams  was  detached  with  one  thousand  men, 
and  two  hundred  Indians,  to  intercept  the  enemy  in  their 
retreat. 

Within  two  hours  after  their  departure  a  heavy  fire  of 
musketry,  in  the  midst  of  the  forest,  about  three  or  four 
miles  off,  told  of  a  warm  encounter.  The  drums  beat  to 
arms  ;  all  were  at  their  posts.  The  firing  grew  sharper 
and  sharper,  and  nearer  and  nearer.  The  detachment 
under  Williams  was  evidently  retreating.  Colonel  Cole 
was  sent  with  three  hundred  men  to  cover  their  retreat. 
The  breastwork  of  trees  was  manned.  Some  heavy  can 
non  were  dragged  up  to  strengthen  the  front.  A  number 
of  men  were  stationed  with  a  field-piece  on  an  eminence 
on  the  left  flank. 

In  a  short  time  fugitives  made  their  appearance ;  first 


264  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

singly,  then  in  masses,  flying  in  confusion,  with  a  rattling 
fire  behind  them,  and  the  horrible  Indian  war-whoop. 
Consternation  seized  upon  the  camp,  especially  when  the 
French  emerged  from  the  forest  in  battle  array,  led  on 
by  the  Baron  Dieskau,  the  gallant  commander  of  Crown 
Point.  Had  all  his  troops  been  as  daring  as  himself,  the 
camp  might  have  been  carried  by  assault ;  but  the  Cana 
dians  and  Indians  held  back,  posted  themselves  behind 
trees,  and  took  to  bush-fighting. 

The  baron  was  left  with  his  regulars  (two  hundred 
grenadiers)  in  front  of  the  camp.  He  kept  up  a  fire  by 
platoons,  but  at  too  great  a  distance  to  do  much  mis 
chief  ;  the  Canadians  and  Indians  fired  from  their  cov 
erts.  The  artillery  played  on  them  in  return.  The 
camp,  having  recovered  from  its  panic,  opened  a  fire 
of  musketry.  The  engagement  became  general.  The 
French  grenadiers  stood  their  ground  bravely  for  a 
long  time,  but  were  dreadfully  cut  up  by  the  artillery 
and  small  arms.  The  action  slackened  on  the  part 
of  the  French,  until,  after  a  long  contest,  they  gave 
way.  Johnson's  men  and  the  Indians  then  leaped  over 
the  breastwork,  and  a  chance-medley  fight  ensued, 
that  ended  in  the  slaughter,  rout,  or  capture  of  the 
enemy. 

The  Baron  de  Dieskau  had  been  disabled  by  a  wound 
in  the  leg.  One  of  his  men,  who  had  endeavored  to  as 
sist  him,  was  shot  down  by  his  side.  The  baron,  left 
alone  in  the  retreat,  was  found  by  the  pursuers  leaning 


DEATH  OF  DIESKAIT.  265 

against  the  stump  of  a  tree.  As  they  approached,  he  felt 
for  his  watch,  to  insure  kind  treatment  by  delivering  it 
up.  A  soldier,  thinking  he  was  drawing  forth  a  pistol  to 
defend  himself,  shot  him  through  the  hips.  He  was  con 
veyed  a  prisoner  to  the  camp,  but  ultimately  died  of  his 
wounds. 

The  baron  had  really  set  off  from  Crown  Point  to 
surprise  Fort  Edward,  and,  if  successful,  to  push  on  to 
Albany  and  Schenectady,  lay  them  in  ashes,  and  cut  off 
all  communication  with  Oswego.  The  Canadians  and 
Indians,  however,  refused  to  attack  the  fort,  fearful  of 
its  cannon ;  he  had  changed  his  plan,  therefore,  and  de 
termined  to  surprise  the  camp.  In  the  encounter  with 
the  detachment  under  Williams,  the  brave  Chevalier  Le- 
gardeur  de  St.  Pierre  lost  his  life.  On  the  part  of  the 
Americans,  Hendrick,  a  famous  old  Mohawk  sachem, 
grand  ally  of  General  Johnson,  was  slain. 

Johnson  himself  received  a  slight  wound  early  in  the 
action,  and  retired  to  his  tent.  He  did  not  follow  up  the 
victory  as  he  should  have  done,  alleging  that  it  was  first 
necessary  to  build  a  strong  fort  at  his  encampment,  by 
way  of  keeping  up  a  communication  with  Albany,  and  by 
the  time  this  was  completed,  it  would  be  too  late  to  ad 
vance  against  Crown  Point.  He  accordingly  erected  a 
stockaded  fort,  which  received  the  name  of  William 
Henry ;  and,  having  garrisoned  it,  returned  to  Albany. 
His  services,  although  they  gained  him  no  laurel-wreath, 
were  rewarded  by  government  with  five  thousand  pounds, 


266  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  a  baronetcy;  and  he  was  made   superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs.* 

*  Johnson's  Letter  to  the  Colonial  Governors,  Sept.  9th,  1753.    Lon 
don  Mag.  1755,  p.  544.    Holmes'  Am.  Annals,  voL  ii.  p.  63.    4th  ed. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


REFORM  IN  THE  MILITIA  LAWS.— DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  TROOPS.— DAGWORTOT 
AND  THE  QUESTION  OF  PRECEDENCE.— WASHINGTON'S  JOURNEY  TO  BOSTON. 
—  STYLE  OF  TRAVELLING.  —  CONFERENCE  WITH  SHIRLEY. — THE  EARL  OF 
LOUDOUN.  —  MILITARY  RULE  FOR  THE  COLONIES. —WASHINGTON  AT  NEW 
YORK.— MISS  MARY  PHILIPSE. 


OETIFYING  experience  had  convinced  Wash 
ington  of  the  inefficiency  of  the  militia  laws, 
and  he  now  set  about  effecting  a  reformation. 
Through  his  great  and  persevering  efforts,  an  act  was 
passed  in  the  Virginia  Legislature  giving  prompt  opera 
tion  to  courts-martial ;  punishing  insubordination,  mu 
tiny,  and  desertion  with  adequate  severity;  strengthen 
ing  the  authority  of  a  commander,  so  as  to  enable  him 
to  enforce  order  and  discipline  among  officers  as  well  as 
privates ;  and  to  avail  himself,  in  time  of  emergency,  and 
for  the  common  safety,  of  the  means  and  services  of  indi 
viduals. 

This  being  effected,  he  proceeded  to  fill  up  his  com 
panies,  and  to  enforce  this  newly  defined  authority  within 
his  camp.  All  gaming,  drinking,  quarreling,  swearing, 
and  similar  excesses,  were  prohibited  under  severe  pen 
alties. 


268  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  disciplining  his  men,  they  were  instructed  not  merely 
in  ordinary  and  regular  tactics,  but  in  all  the  strategy  of 
Indian  warfare,  and  what  is  called  "  bush-fighting," — a 
knowledge  indispensable  in  the  wild  wars  of  the  wilder 
ness.  Stockaded  forts,  too,  were  constructed  at  various 
points,  as  places  of  refuge  and  defense,  in  exposed  neigh 
borhoods.  Under  shelter  of  these,  the  inhabitants  be 
gan  to  return  to  their  deserted  homes.  A  shorter  and 
better  road,  also,  was  opened  by  him  between  Winchester 
and  Cumberland,  for  the  transmission  of  reinforcements 
and  supplies. 

His  exertions,  however,  were  impeded  by  one  of  those 
questions  of  precedence,  which  had  so  often  annoyed 
him,  arising  from  the  difference  between  crown  and  pro 
vincial  commissions.  Maryland  having  by  a  scanty  ap 
propriation  raised  a  small  militia  force,  stationed  Captain 
Dagworthy,  with  a  company  of  thirty  men,  at  Fort  Cum 
berland,  which  stood  within  the  boundaries  of  that  prov 
ince.  Dagworthy  had  served  in  Canada  in  the  preceding 
war,  and  had  received  a  king's  commission.  This  he  had 
since  commuted  for  half-pay,  and,  of  course,  had  virtually 
parted  with  its  privileges.  He  was  nothing  more,  there 
fore,  than  a  Maryland  provincial  captain,  at  the  head  of 
thirty  men.  He  now,  however,  assumed  to  act  under  his 
royal  commission,  and  refused  to  obey  the  orders  of  any 
officer,  however  high  his  rank,  who  merely  held  his  com 
mission  from  a  governor.  Nay,  when  Governor,  or  rather 
Colonel  Innes,  who  commanded  at  the  fort,  was  called 


QUESTION  OF  PRECEDENCE.  269 

away  to  North  Carolina  by  his  private  affairs,  the  captain 
took  upon  himself  the  command,  and  insisted  upon  it  as 
his  right. 

Parties  instantly  arose,  and  quarrels  ensued  among  the 
inferior  officers ;  grave  questions  were  agitated  between 
the  governors  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  as  to  the  fort 
itself ;  the  former  claiming  it  as  within  his  province,  the 
latter  insisting  that,  as  it  had  been  built  according  to 
orders  sent  by  the  king,  it  was  the  king's  fort,  and  could 
not  be  subject  to  the  authority  of  Maryland. 

Washington  refrained  from  mingling  in  this  dispute ; 
but  intimated  that  if  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces 
of  Virginia  must  yield  precedence  to  a  Maryland  captain 
of  thirty  men,  he  should  have  to  resign  his  commission, 
as  he  had  been  compelled  to  do  before,  by  a  question  of 
military  rank. 

So  difficult  was  it,  however,  to  settle  these  disputes  of 
precedence,  especially  where  the  claims  of  two  governors 
came  in  collision,  that  it  was  determined  to  refer  the 
matter  to  Major-general  Shirley,  who  had  succeeded 
Braddock  in  the  general  command  of  the  colonies.  For 
this  purpose  Washington  was  to  go  to  Boston,  obtain  a 
decision  from  Shirley  of  the  point  in  dispute,  and  a  gen 
eral  regulation,  by  which  these  difficulties  could  be  pre 
vented  in  future.  It  was  thought,  also,  that  in  a  confer 
ence  with  the  commander-in-chief  he  might  inform  him 
self  of  the  military  measures  in  contemplation. 

Accordingly,  on   the   4th  of  February  (1756),  leaving 


270  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Colonel  Adam  Stephen  in  command  of  the  troops, 
Washington  set  out  on  his  mission,  accompanied  by  his 
aide-de-camp,  Captain  George  Mercer  of  Virginia,  and 
Captain  Stewart  of  the  Virginia  light  horse ;  the  officer 
who  had  taken  care  of  General  Braddock  in  his  last 
moments. 

In  those  days  the  conveniences  of  travelling,  even 
between  our  main  cities,  were  few,  and  the  roads  execra 
ble.  The  party,  therefore,  travelled  in  Virginia  style,  on 
horseback,  attended  by  their  black  servants  in  livery.* 
In  this  way  they  accomplished  a  journey  of  five  hundred 
miles  in  the  depth  of  winter,  stopping  for  some  days  at 
Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Those  cities  were  then 

*  We  have  hitherto  treated  of  Washington  in  his  campaigns  in  the 
wilderness,  frugal  and  scanty  in  his  equipments,  often,  very  probably,  in 
little  better  than  hunter's  garb.  His  present  excursion  through  some  of 
the  Atlantic  cities  presents  him  in  a  different  aspect.  His  recent  inter 
course  with  young  British  officers  had  probably  elevated  his  notions  as  to 
style  in  dress  and  appearance ;  at  least  we  are  inclined  to  suspect  so  from 
the  following  aristocratical  order  for  clothes,  sent  shortly  before  the  time 
in  question,  to  his  correspondent  in  London. 

"2  complete  livery  suits  for  servants  ;  with  a  spare  cloak,  all  other 
necessary  trimmings  for  two  suits  more.  I  would  have  you  choose  the 
livery  by  our  arms,  only  as  the  field  of  the  arms  is  white,  I  think  the 
clothes  had  better  not  be  quite  so,  but  nearly  like  the  inclosed.  The 
trimmings  and  facings  of  scarlet,  and  a  scarlet  waistcoat.  If  livery  lace 
is  not  quite  disused,  I  should  be  glad  to  have  the  cloaks  laced.  I  like 
that  fashion  best,  and  two  silver-laced  hats  for  the  above  servants. 

"1  set  of  horse  furniture,  with  livery  lace,  with  the  Washington  crest 
on  the  housings,  &c.  The  cloak  to  be  of  the  same  piece  and  color  of  the 
clothes. 

"  3  gold  and  scarlet  sword-knots.  3  silver  and  blue  do.  1  fashionable 
gold-laced  hat." 


JOURNEY  TO  BOSTON.  271 

comparatively  small,  and  the  arrival  of  a  party  of  young 
Southern  officers  attracted  attention.  The  late  disastrous 
battle  was  still  the  theme  of  every  tongue,  and  the  hon 
orable  way  in  which  these  young  officers  had  acquitted 
themselves  in  it,  made  them  objects  of  universal  interest. 
Washington's  fame,  especially,  had  gone  before  him, 
having  been  spread  by  the  officers  who  had  served  with 
him,  and  by  the  public  honors  decreed  him  by  the  Vir 
ginia  Legislature.  "Your  name,"  wrote  his  former  fel 
low-campaigner,  Gist,  in  a  letter  dated  in  the  preceding 
autumn,  "  is  more  talked  of  in  Philadelphia  than  that  of 
any  other  person  in  the  army,  and  everybody  seems  will 
ing  to  venture  under  your  command." 

With  these  prepossessions  in  his  favor,  when  we  con 
sider  Washington's  noble  person  and  demeanor,  his  con 
summate  horsemanship,  the  admirable  horses  he  was 
accustomed  to  ride,  and  the  aristocratical  style  of  his 
equipments,  we  may  imagine  the  effect  produced  by  him 
self  and  his  little  cavalcade,  as  they  clattered  through 
the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  and  New  York,  and  Boston. 
It  is  needless  to  say,  their  sojourn  in  each  city  was  a 
continual  fete. 

The  mission  to  General  Shirley  was  entirely  success 
ful  as  to  the  question  of  rank.  A  written  order  from  the 
commander-in-chief  determined  that  Dagworthy  was  en 
titled  to  the  rank  of  a  provincial  captain  only,  and,  of 
course,  must  on  all  occasions  give  precedence  to  Colonel 
Washington,  as  a  provincial  field-officer.  The  latter  was 


272  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

disappointed,  however,  in  the  hope  of  getting  himself  and 
his  officers  put  upon  the  regular  establishment,  with 
commissions  from  the  king,  apd  had  to  remain  subjected 
to  mortifying  questions  of  rank  and  etiquette,  when  serv 
ing  in  company  with  regular  troops. 

From  General  Shirley  he  learnt  that  the  main  objects 
of  the  ensuing  campaign  would  be  the  reduction  of  Fort 
Niagara,  so  as  to  cut  off  the  communication  between 
Canada  and  Louisiana,  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point,  as  a  measure  of  safety  for  New  York,  the 
besieging  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and  the  menacing  of  Quebec 
by  a  body  of  troops  which  were  to  advance  by  the  Ken- 
nebec  River. 

The  official  career  of  General  Shirley  was  drawing  to  a 
close.  Though  a  man  of  good  parts,  he  had  always,  until 
recently,  acted  in  a  civil  capacity,  and  proved  incompe* 
tent  to  conduct  military  operations.  He  was  recalled  to 
England,  and  was  to  be  superseded  by  General  Aber- 
crombie,  who  was  coming  out  with  two  regiments. 

The  general  command  in  America,  however,  was  to  be 
held  by  the  Earl  of  Loudoun,  who  was  invested  with 
powers  almost  equal  to  those  of  a  viceroy,  being  placed 
above  all  the  colonial  governors.  These  might  claim  to 
be  civil  and  military  representatives  of  their  sovereign 
within  their  respective  colonies ;  but  even  there,  were 
bound  to  defer  and  yield  precedence  to  this  their  official 
superior.  This  was  part  of  a  plan  devised  long  ago,  but 
now  first  brought  into  operation,  by  which  the  ministry 


MISS  MARY  PHILIP SE.  273 

hoped  to  unite  the  colonies  under  military  rule,  and 
oblige  the  assemblies,  magistrates,  and  people  to  furnish 
quarters  and  provide  a  general  fund  subject  to  the  con 
trol  of  this  military  dictator. 

Beside  his  general  command,  the  Earl  of  Loudoun  was 
to  be  governor  of  Virginia  and  colonel  of  a  royal  Amer 
ican  regiment  of  four  battalions,  to  be  raised  in  the  colo 
nies,  but  furnished  with  officers  who,  like  himself,  had 
seen  foreign  service.  The  campaign  would  open  on  his 
arrival,  which,  it  was  expected,  would  be  early  in  the 
spring;  and  brilliant  results  were  anticipated. 

Washington  remained  ten  days  in  Boston,  attending, 
with  great  interest,  the  meetings  of  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature,  in  which  the  plan  of  military  operations  was 
ably  discussed ;  and  receiving  the  most  hospitable  atten 
tions  from  the  polite  and  intelligent  society  of  the  place, 
after  which  he  returned  to  New  York. 

Tradition  gives  very  different  motives  from  those  of 
business  for  his  two  sojourns  in  the  latter  city.  He  found 
there  an  early  friend  and  schoolmate,  Beverly  Kobinson, 
son  of  John  Robinson,  Speaker  of  the  Virginia  House  of 
Burgesses.  He  was  living  happily  and  prosperously  with 
A  young  and  wealthy  bride,  having  married  one  of  the 
nieces  and  heiresses  of  Mr.  Adolphus  Philipse,  a  rich 
landholder,  whose  manor-house  is  still  to  be  seen  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson.  At  the  house  of  Mr.  Beverly  Eob 
inson,  where  Washington  was  an  honored  guest,  he  met 
Miss  Mary  Philipse,  sister  of  and  co-heiress  with  Mrs. 
VOL.  i.— 18 


274  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Kobinson,  a  young  lady  whose  personal  attractions  are 
said  to  have  rivaled  her  reputed  wealth. 

We  have  already  given  an  instance  of  Washington's 
early  sensibility  to  female  charms.  A  life,  however,  of 
constant  activity  and  care,  passed  for  the  most  part  in  the 
wilderness  and  on  the  frontier,  far  from  female  society, 
had  left  little  mood  or  leisure  for  the  indulgence  of  the 
tender  sentiment ;  but  made  him  more  sensible,  in  the 
present  brief  interval  of  gay  and  social  life,  to  the  attrac 
tions  of  an  elegant  woman,  brought  up  in  the  polite  circle 
of  New  York. 

That  he  was  an  open  admirer  of  Miss  Philipse  is  an 
historical  fact ;  that  he  sought  her  hand,  but  was  refused, 
is  traditional,  and  not  very  probable.  His  military  rank, 
his  early  laurels,  and  distinguished  presence,  were  all 
calculated  to  win  favor  in  female  eyes ;  but  his  sojourn  in 
New  York  was  brief;  he  may  have  been  diffident  in  urg 
ing  his  suit  with  a  lady  accustomed  to  the  homage  of 
society  and  surrounded  by  admirers.  The  most  probable 
version  of  the  story  is,  that  he  was  called  away  by  his 
public  duties  before  he  had  made  sufficient  approaches  in 
his  siege  of  the  lady's  heart  to  warrant  a  summons  to 
surrender.  In  the  latter  part  of  March  we  find  him  at 
Williamsburg  attending  the  opening  of  the  Le^1  °  fcure  of 
Virginia,  eager  to  promote  measures  for  the  protection  of 
the  frontier  and  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne,  the  lead 
ing  object  of  his  ambition.  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania 
were  erecting  forts  for  the  defense  of  their  own  borders, 


RETURN  TO   WINCHESTER.  275 

but  showed  no  disposition  to  cooperate  with  Virginia  in 
the  field;  and  artillery,  artillerymen,  and  engineers  were 
wanting  for  an  attack  on  fortified  places.  Washington 
urged,  therefore,  an  augmentation  of  the  provincial  forces, 
and  various  improvements  in  the  mil?tia  laws. 

While  thus  engaged,  he  received  a  letter  from  a  friend 
and  confidant  in  New  York,  warning  him  to  hasten  back 
to  that  city  before  it  was  too  late,  as  Captain  Morris, 
who  had  been  his  fellow  aide-de-camp  under  Braddock, 
was  laying  close  siege  to  Miss  Philipse.  Sterner  alarms, 
however,  summoned  him  in  another  direction.  Expresses 
from  Winchester  brought  word  that  the  French  had 
made  another  sortie  from  Fort  Duquesne,  accompanied 
by  a  band  of  savages,  and  were  spreading  terror  and 
desolation  through  the  country.  In  this  moment  of  ex 
igency  all  softer  claims  were  forgotten ;  Washington  re 
paired  in  all  haste  to  his  post  at  Winchester,  and  Captain 
Morris  was  left  to  urge  his  suit  unrivaled  and  carry  oft 
the  prize. 


'-.«  1*%!^ 


CHAPTEE  XX. 


fWOUBLES  IN  THE  SHENANDOAH  VALLEY. — GREENWAY  COUBT  AND  LORD  FAI& 
FAX  IN  DANGER.— ALARMS  AT  WINCHESTER.— WASHINGTON  APPEALED  TO 
FOR  PROTECTION. — ATTACKED  BY  THE  VIRGINIA  PRESS. — HONORED  BY  THB 
PUBLIC. — PROJECTS  FOR  DEFENSE.  —  SUGGESTIONS  OF  WASHINGTON.  —  THB 
GENTLEMEN  ASSOCIATORS.  —  RETREAT  OF  THE  SAVAGES.  —  EXPEDITION 
AGAINST  KITTANNING.  —  CAPTAIN  HUGH  MERCER.  —  SECOND  STRUGGLE 
THROUGH  THE  WILDERNESS. 


EPOBT  had  not  exaggerated  the  troubles  of 
the  frontier.  It  was  marauded  by  merciless 
bands  of  savages,  led  in  some  instances  by 
Frenchmen.  Travellers  were  murdered,  farm-houses, 
burnt  down,  families  butchered,  and  even  stockaded  forts, 
or  houses  of  refuge,  attacked  in  open  day.  The  ma 
rauders  had  crossed  the  mountains  and  penetrated  the 
Talley  cf  the  Shenanvlo*L ;  and  several  persons  had  fallen 
beneath  the  tomahawk  in  the  neighborhood  of  Win 
chester. 

Washington's  old  friend,  Lord  Fairfax,  found  himseli 
no  longer  safe  in  his  rural  abode.  Greenway  Court  was 
in  the  midst  of  a  woodland  region,  affording  a  covert 
approach  for  the  stealthy  savage.  His  lordship  was  con 
sidered  a  great  chief,  whose  scalp  would  be  an  inestim^ 

276 


WINCHESTER  IN  TERROR.  277 

ble  trophy  for  an  Indian  warrior.  Fears  were  enter 
tained,  therefore,  by  his  friends,  that  an  attempt  would 
be  made  to  surprise  him  in  his  greenwood  castle.  His 
nephew,  Colonel  Martin  of  the  militia,  who  resided  with 
him,  suggested  the  expediency  of  a  removal  to  the  lower 
settlements,  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  high-spirited 
old  nobleman  demurred ;  his  heart  cleaved  to  the  home 
which  he  had  formed  for  himself  in  the  wilderness.  "  I 
am  an  old  man,"  said  he,  "  and  it  is  of  little  importance 
whether  I  fall  by  the  tomahawk  or  die  of  disease  and  old 
age;  but  you  are  young,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  have 
many  years  before  you,  therefore  decide  for  us  both ;  my 
only  fear  is,  that  if  we  retire,  the  whole  district  will 
break  up  and  take  to  flight ;  and  this  fine  country,  which 
I  have  been  at  such  cost  and  trouble  to  improve,  will 
again  become  a  wilderness." 

Colonel  Martin  took  but  a  short  time  to  deliberate. 
He  knew  the  fearless  character  of  his  uncle,  and  per 
ceived  what  was  his  inclination.  He  considered  that  his 
lordship  had  numerous  retainers,  white  and  black,  with 
hardy  huntsmen  and  foresters  to  rally  round  him,  and 
that  Greenway  Court  was  at  no  great  distance  from  Win 
chester  ;  he  decided,  therefore,  that  they  should  remain 
and  abide  the  course  of  events. 

Washington,  on  his  arrival  at  Winchester,  found  the 
inhabitants  in  great  dismay.  He  resolved  immediately 
to  organize  a  force,  composed  partly  of  troops  from  Fort 
Cumberland,  partly  of  militia  from  Winchester  and  its 


273  LIFE  OP  WASHINGTON. 

vicinity,  to  put  himself  at  its  head,  and  "  scour  the  woods 
and  suspected  places  in  all  the  mountains  and  valleys  of 
this  part  of  the  frontier,  in  quest  of  the  Indians  and  their 
more  cruel  associates." 

He  accordingly  despatched  an  express  to  Fort  Cum 
berland  with  orders  for  a  detachment  from  the  garri 
son  ;  "  but  how,"  said  he,  "  are  men  to  be  raised  at  Win 
chester,  since  orders  are  no  longer  regarded  in  the 
county  ?  " 

Lord  Fairfax,  and  other  militia  officers  with  whom  he 
consulted,  advised  that  each  captain  should  call  a  private 
muster  of  his  men,  and  read  before  them  an  address,  or 
"  exhortation  "  as  it  was  called,  being  an  appeal  to  their 
patriotism  and  fears,  and  a  summons  to  assemble  on  the 
15th  of  April  to  enroll  themselves  for  the  projected  moun 
tain  foray. 

This  measure  was  adopted;  the  private  musterings 
occurred  ;  the  exhortation  was  read ;  the  time  and  place 
of  assemblage  appointed ;  but,  when  the  day  of  enrollment 
arrived,  not  more  than  fifteen  men  appeared  upon  the 
ground.  In  the  meantime  the  express  returned  with  sad 
accounts  from  Fort  Cumberland.  No  troops  could  be 
furnished  from  that  quarter.  The  garrison  was  scarcely 
strong  enough  for  self-defense,  having  sent  out  detach 
ments  in  different  directions.  The  express  had  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life,  having  been  fired  upon  repeatedly, 
his  horse  shot  under  him,  and  his  clothes  riddled  with 
bullets.  The  roads,  he  said,  were  infested  by  savages ; 


APPEAL   TO   THE  GOVERNOR.  279 

none  but  hunters,  who  knew  how  to  thread  the  forests  at 
night,  could  travel  with  safety. 

Horrors  accumulated  at  Winchester.  Every  houl 
brought  its  tale  of  terror,  true  or  false,  of  houses  burnt, 
families  massacred,  or  beleaguered  and  famishing  in 
stockaded  forts.  The  danger  approached.  A  scouting 
party  had  been  attacked  in  the  Warm  Spring  Mountain, 
about  twenty  miles  distant,  by  a  large  body  of  French 
and  Indians,  mostly  on  horseback.  The  captain  of  the 
scouting  party  and  several  of  his  men  had  been  slain,  and 
the  rest  put  to  flight. 

An  attack  on  Winchester  was  apprehended,  and  the 
terrors  of  the  people  rose  to  agony.  They  now  turned  to 
Washington  as  their  main  hope.  The  women  surrounded 
him,  holding  up  their  children,  and  imploring  him  with 
tears  and  cries  to  save  them  from  the  savages.  The 
youthful  commander  looked  round  on  the  suppliant 
crowd  with  a  countenance  beaming  with  pity,  and  a 
heart  wrung  with  anguish.  A  letter  to  Governor  Din- 
widdie  shows  the  conflict  of  his  feelings.  "I  am  too 
little  acquainted  with  pathetic  language  to  attempt  a  de 
scription  of  these  people's  distresses.  But  what  can  I 
do  ?  I  see  their  situation ;  I  know  their  danger,  and  par 
ticipate  their  sufferings,  without  having  it  in  my  power 
to  give  them  further  relief  than  uncertain  promises." — 
"  The  supplicating  tears  of  the  women,  and  moving  peti 
tions  of  the  men,  melt  me  into  such  deadly  sorrow,  that  I 
solemnly  declare,  if  I  know  my  own  mind,  I  could  offer 


280  LIP®  OP  WASHINGTON. 

myself  a  willing  sacrifice  to  the  butchering  enemy,  pro 
vided  that  would  contribute  to  the  people's  ease." 

The  unstudied  eloquence  of  this  letter  drew  from  the 
governor  an  instant  order  for  a  militia  force  from  the 
upper  counties  to  his  assistance ;  but  the  Virginia  news 
papers,  in  descanting  on  the  frontier  troubles,  threw  dis 
credit  on  the  army  and  its  officers,  and  attached  blame  to 
its  commander.  Stung  to  the  quick  by  this  injustice, 
Washington  publicly  declared  that  nothing  but  the  im 
minent  danger  of  the  times  prevented  him  from  instantly 
resigning  a  command  from  which  he  could  never  reap 
either  honor  or  benefit.  His  sensitiveness  called  forth 
strong  letters  from  his  friends,  assuring  him  of  the  high 
sense  entertained  at  the  seat  of  government,  and  else 
where,  of  his  merits  and  services.  "  Your  good  health 
and  fortune  are  the  toast  of  every  table,"  wrote  his  early 
friend,  Colonel  Fairfax,  at  that  time  a  member  of  the 
governor's  council.  "  Your  endeavors  in  the  service  and 
defense  of  your  country  must  redound  to  your  honor." 

"Our  hopes,  dear  George,"  wrote  Mr.  Robinson,  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  "  are  all  fixed  on  you 
for  bringing  our  affairs  to  a  happy  issue.  Consider  what 
fatal  consequences  to  your  country  your  resigning  the 
command  at  this  time  may  be,  especially  as  there  is  no 
doubt  most  of  the  officers  will  follow  your  example." 

In  fact,  the  situation  and  services  of  the  youthful  com 
mander,  shut  up  in  a  frontier  town,  destitute  of  forces, 
unrounded  by  savage  foes,  gallantly,  though  despair- 


PLAN  FOR  DEFENSE.  281 

ingly,  devoting  himself  to  the  safety  of  a  suffering  people, 
were  properly  understood  throughout  the  country,  and 
excited  a  glow  of  enthusiasm  in  his  favor.  The  Legisla 
ture,  too,  began  at  length  to  act,  but  timidly  and  ineffi 
ciently.  "  The  country  knows  her  danger,"  writes  one  of 
the  members,  "but  such  is  her  parsimony  that  she  is 
willing  to  wait  for  the  rains  to  wet  the  powder,  and  the 
rats  to  eat  the  bowstrings  of  the  enemy,  rather  than 
attempt  to  drive  them  from  her  frontiers." 

The  measure  of  relief  voted  by  the  Assembly  was  an 
additional  appropriation  of  twenty  thousand  pounds,  and 
an  increase  of  the  provincial  force  to  fifteen  hundred 
men.  With  this  it  was  proposed  to  erect  and  garrison  a 
chain  of  frontier  forts,  extending  through  the  ranges  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains,  from  the  Potomac  to  the  bor 
ders  of  North  Carolina ;  a  distance  of  between  three  and 
four  hundred  miles.  This  was  one  of  the  inconsiderate 
projects  devised  by  Governor  Dinwiddie. 

Washington,  in  letters  to  the  governor  and  to  the 
speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  urged  the  impol 
icy  of  such  a  plan,  with  their  actual  force  and  means. 
The  forts,  he  observed,  ought  to  be  within  fifteen  or 
eighteen  miles  of  each  other,  that  their  spies  might  be 
able  to  keep  watch  over  the  intervening  country,  other 
wise  the  Indians  would  pass  between  them  unperceived, 
effect  their  ravages,  and  escape  to  the  mountains,  swamps, 
and  ravines,  before  the  troops  from  the  forts  could  be 
assembled  to  pursue  them.  They  ought  each  to  be  gar- 


282  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

risoned  with  eighty  or  a  hundred  men,  so  as  to  afford 
detachments  of  sufficient  strength,  without  leaving  the 
garrison  too  weak ;  for  the  Indians  are  the  most  stealthy 
and  patient  of  spies  and  lurkers ;  will  lie  in  wait  for  days 
together  about  small  forts  of  the  kind,  and,  if  they  find, 
by  some  chance  prisoner,  that  the  garrison  is  actually 
weak,  will  first  surprise  and  cut  off  its  scouting  parties, 
and  then  attack  the  fort  itself.  It  was  evident,  therefore, 
observed  he,  that  to  garrison  properly  such  a  line  of 
forts,  would  require,  at  least,  two  thousand  men.  And 
even  then,  a  line  of  such  extent  might  be  broken  through 
at  one  end  before  the  other  end  could  yield  assistance. 
Feint  attacks,  also,  might  be  made  at  one  point,  while 
the  real  attack  was  make  at  another,  quite  distant ;  and 
fche  country  be  overrun  before  its  widely-posted  defend 
ers  could  be  alarmed  and  concentrated.  Then  must  be 
taken  into  consideration  the  immense  cost  of  building  so 
many  forts,  and  the  constant  and  consuming  expense  of 
supplies  and  transportation. 

His  idea  of  a  defensive  plan  was  to  build  a  strong  fort 
at  "Winchester,  the  central  point,  where  all  the  main 
roads  met,  of  a  wide  range  of  scattered  settlements, 
where  tidings  could  soonest  be  collected  from  every 
quarter,  and  whence  reinforcements  and  supplies  could 
most  readily  be  forwarded.  It  was  to  be  a  grand  de 
posit  of  military  stores,  a  residence  for  commanding 
officers,  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  women  and  children 
in  time  of  alarm,  when  the  men  had  suddenly  to  cake 


SUGGESTIONS  OF  WASHINGTON.  283 

fch^  Held;  in  a  word,  it  was  to  be  the  citadel  of  the 
frontier. 

Beside  this,  he  would  have  three  or  four  large  for- 
tressev  erected  at  convenient  distances  upon  the  fron 
tiers,  wivh  powerful  garrisons,  so  as  to  be  able  to  throw 
out,  in  ccostant  succession,  strong  scouting  parties,  to 
range  the  country.  Fort  Cumberland  he  condemned  as 
being  out  of  the  province,  and  out  of  the  track  of  Indian 
incursions;  insomuch  that  it  seldom  received  an  alarm 
until  all  the  rnXschief  had  been  effected. 

His  representations  with  respect  to  military  laws  and 
regulations  were  oqually  cogent.  In  the  late  act  of  the 
Assembly  for  raising  a  regiment,  it  was  provided  that,  in 
cases  of  emergency,  '••£  recruits  should  not  offer  in  suffi 
cient  number,  the  miliitisi  might  be  drafted  to  supply  the 
deficiencies,  but  only  to  serve  until  December,  and  not  to 
be  marched  out  of  the  province.  In  this  case,  said  he, 
before  they  have  entered  upon  service,  or  got  the  least 
smattering  of  duty,  they  will  claim  a  discharge ;  if  they 
are  pursuing  an  enemy  who  has  committed  the  most  un 
heard-of  cruelties,  he  has  only  to  step  across  the  Poto 
mac,  and  he  is  safe.  Then  as  to  the  limits  of  service, 
they  might  just  as  easily  have  been  enlisted  for  seventeen 
months  as  seven.  They  would  then  have  been  seasoned 
as  well  as  disciplined ;  "  for  we  find  by  experience,"  says 
he,  "  that  our  poor  ragged  soldiers  would  kill  the  most 
active  militia  in  five  days'  marching." 

Then,  as  to  punishments :  death  it  was  true,  had  been. 


284  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

decreed  for  mutiny  and  desertion ;  but  there  was  no  pun 
ishment  for  cowardice ;  for  holding  correspondence  with 
the  enemy;  for  quitting  or  sleeping  on  one's  post — all 
capital  offenses,  according  to  the  military  codes  of  Eu 
rope.  Neither  were  there  provisions  for  quartering  or 
billeting  soldiers,  or  impressing  wagons  and  other  con 
veyances,  in  times  of  exigency.  To  crown  all,  no  court- 
martial  could  sit  out  of  Virginia;  a  most  embarrassing 
regulation,  when  troops  were  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles 
beyond  the  frontier.  He  earnestly  suggested  amendments 
on  all  these  points,  as  well  as  with  regard  to  the  soldiers' 
pay ;  which  was  less  than  that  of  the  regular  troops,  or 
the  troops  of  most  of  the  other  provinces. 

All  these  suggestions,  showing  at  this  youthful  age 
that  forethought  and  circumspection  which  distinguished 
him  throughout  life,  were  repeatedly  and  eloquently  urged 
upon  Governor  Dinwiddie,  with  very  little  effect.  The 
plan  of  a  frontier  line  of  twenty-  three  forts  was  persisted 
in.  Fort  Cumberland  was  pertinaciously  kept  up  at  a 
great  and  useless  expense  of  men  and  money,  and  the 
militia  laws  remained  lax  and  inefficient.  It  was  decreed, 
however,  that  the  great  central  fort  at  Winchester  recom 
mended  by  "Washington,  should  be  erected. 

In  the  height  of  the  alarm,  a  company  of  one  hundred 
gentlemen,  mounted  and  equipped,  volunteered  their  ser 
vices  to  repair  to  the  frontier.  They  were  headed  by 
Peyton  Kandolph,  attorney-general,  a  man  deservedly 
popular  throughout  the  province.  Their  offer  was  gladlt 


THE  "GENTLEMEN  ASSOCIATORS."  285 

accepted.  They  were  denominated  the  "  Gentlemen  Asso- 
ciators,"  and  great  expectations,  of  course,  were  enter 
tained  from  their  gallantry  and  devotion.  They  were 
empowered,  also,  to  aid  with  their  judgment  in  the  selec 
tion  of  places  for  frontier  forts. 

The  "  Gentlemen  Associators,"  like  all  gentlemen  asso- 
ciators  in  similar  emergencies,  turned  out  with  great  zeal 
and  spirit,  and  immense  popular  effect,  but  wasted  their 
fire  in  preparation,  and  on  the  march.  Washington,  who 
well  understood  the  value  of  such  aid,  observed  dryly  in 
a  letter  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  "  I  am  heartily  glad  that 
you  have  fixed  upon  these  gentlemen  to  point  out  the 
places  for  erecting  forts,  but  regret  to  find  their  motions 
so  slow."  There  is  no  doubt  that  they  would  have  con 
ducted  themselves  gallantly,  had  they  been  put  to  the 
test ;  but  before  they  arrived  near  the  scene  of  danger 
the  alarm  was  over.  About  the  beginning  of  May,  scouts 
brought  in  word  that  the  tracks  of  the  marauding  savages 
tended  toward  Fort  Duquesne,  as  if  on  the  return.  In  a 
little  while  it  was  ascertained  that  they  had  recrossed 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  to  the  Ohio  in  such  numbers  as 
to  leave  a  beaten  track,  equal  to  that  made  in  the  preced 
ing  year  by  the  army  of  Braddock. 

The  repeated  inroads  of  the  savages  called  for  an 
effectual  and  permanent  check.  The  idea  of  being  con 
stantly  subject  to  the  irruptions  of  a  deadly  foe,  that 
moved  with  stealth  and  mystery,  and  was  only  to  be 
traced  by  its  ravages,  and  counted  by  its  footprints,  dis- 


286  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

couraged  all  settlement  of  the  country.  The  beautiful  val 
ley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  fast  becoming  a  deserted  and 
a  silent  place.  Her  people,  for  the  most  part,  had  fled  to 
the  older  settlements  south  of  the  mountains,  and  the 
Blue  Bidge  was  likely  soon  to  become  virtually  the  fron 
tier  line  of  the  province. 

We  have  to  record  one  signal  act  of  retaliation  on  the 
perfidious  tribes  of  the  Ohio,  in  which  a  person  whose 
name  subsequently  became  dear  to  Americans,  was  con 
cerned.  Prisoners  who  had  escaped  from  the  savages 
reported  that  Shingis,  Washington's  faithless  ally,  and 
another  sachem,  called  Captain  Jacobs,  were  the  two 
heads  of  the  hostile  bands  that  had  desolated  the  fron 
tier.  That  they  lived  at  Kittanning,  an  Indian  town, 
about  forty  miles  above  Fort  Duquesne ;  at  which  their 
warriors  were  fitted  out  for  incursions,  and  whither  they 
returned  with  their  prisoners  and  plunder.  Captain 
Jacobs  was  a  daring  fellow,  and  scoffed  at  palisadoed 
forts.  "  He  could  take  any  fort,"  he  said,  "  that  would 
catch  fire." 

A  party  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  provincials,  reso 
lute  men,  undertook  to  surprise  and  destroy  this  savage 
nest.  It  was  commanded  by  Colonel  John  Armstrong ; 
and  with  him  went  Dr.  Hugh  Mercer,  of  subsequent  re 
nown,  who  had  received  a  captain's  commission  from 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1756. 

Armstrong  led  his  men  rapidly,  but  secretly,  over 
mountain  and  through  forest,  until,  after  a  long  and  per- 


ATTACK  ON  KITTANNING.  287 

ilous  march,  they  reached  the  Alleghany.  It  was  a 
moonlight  night  when  they  arrived  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Kittanning.  They  were  guided  to  the  village  by 
whoops  and  yells,  and  the  sound  of  the  Indian  drum. 
The  warriors  were  celebrating  their  exploits  by  the  tri 
umphant  scalp-dance.  After  a  while  the  revel  ceased,  and 
a  number  of  fires  appeared  here  and  there  in  a  corn-field. 
They  were  made  by  such  of  the  Indians  as  slept  in  the 
open  air,  and  were  intended  to  drive  off  the  gnats.  Arm 
strong  and  his  men  lay  down  "quiet  and  hush,"  observ 
ing  everything  narrowly,  and  waiting  until  the  moon 
should  set,  and  the  warriors  ba  asleep.  At  length  the 
moon  went  down,  the  fires  burned  low ;  all  was  quiet. 
Armstrong  now  roused  his  men,  some  of  whom,  wearied 
by  their  long  march,  had  fallen  asleep.  He  divided  his 
forces ;  part  were  to  attack  the  warriors  in  the  corn-field, 
part  were  despatched  to  the  houses,  which  were  dimly 
seen  by  the  first  streak  of  day.  There  was  sharp  firing  in 
both  quarters,  for  the  Indians,  though  taken  by  surprise, 
fought  bravely,  inspired  by  the  war-whoop  of  their  chief, 
Captain  Jacobs.  The  women  and  children  fled  to  the 
woods.  Several  of  the  provincials  were  killed  and 
wounded.  Captain  Hugh  Mercer  received  a  wound  in 
the  arm,  and  was  taken  to  the  top  of  a  hill.  The  fierce 
chieftain,  Captain  Jacobs,  was  besieged  in  his  house, 
which  had  port-holes ;  whence  he  and  his  warriors  made 
havoc  among  the  assailants.  The  adjoining  houses  were 
set  on  fire.  The  chief  was  summoned  to  surrender  him- 


288  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

\ 

self.  He  replied  he  was  a  man,  and  would  not  be  a  pris 
oner.  He  was  told  he  would  be  burnt.  His  reply  was, 
"  he  would  kill  four  or  five  before  he  died."  The  flames 
and  smoke  approached.  "  One  of  the  besieged  warriors* 
to  show  his  manhood,  began  to  sing.  A  squaw  at  the 
same  time  was  heard  to  cry,  but  was  severely  rebuked 
by  the  men."  * 

In  the  end,  the  warriors  were  driven  out  by  the  flames ; 
some  escaped,  and  some  were  shot.  Among  the  latter 
was  Captain  Jacobs,  and  his  gigantic  son,  said  to  be  seven 
feet  high.  Fire  was  now  set  to  all  the  houses,  thirty  in 
number.  "  During  the  burning  of  the  houses,"  says  Colo 
nel  Armstrong,  "we  were  agreeably  entertained  with  a 
quick  succession  of  charged  guns,  gradually  firing  off  as 
reached  by  the  fire,  but  much  more  so  with  the  vast  ex 
plosion  of  sundry  bags,  and  large  kegs  of  powder,  where 
with  almost  every  house  abounded."  The  colonel  was  in 
a  strange  condition  to  enjoy  such  an  entertainment,  hav 
ing  received  a  wound  from  a  large  musket-ball  in  the 
shoulder. 

The  object  of  the  expedition  was  accomplished.  Thirty 
or  forty  of  the  warriors  were  slain ;  their  stronghold  was 
a  smoking  ruin.  There  was  danger  of  the  victors  being 
cut  off  by  a  detachment  from  Fort  Duquesne.  They  made 
the  best  of  their  way,  therefore,  to  their  horses,  which 
had  been  left  at  a  distance,  and  set  off  rapidly  on  theil 

*  Letter  from  Col.  Armstrong. 


CAPTAIN  HUGH  MERCER.  289 

march  to  Fort  Lyttleton,  about  sixty  miles  north  of  Fort 
Cumberland. 

Colonel  Armstrong  had  reached  Fort  Lyttleton  on  the 
14th  of  September,  six  days  after  the  battle,  and  fears 
were  entertained  that  he  had  been  intercepted  by  the 
Indians  and  was  lost.  He,  with  his  ensign  and  eleven 
men,  had  separated  from  the  main  body  when  they  began 
their  march  and  had  taken  another  and  what  was  sup 
posed  a  safer  road.  He  had  with  him  a  woman,  a  boy, 
and  two  little  girls,  recaptured  from  the  Indians.  The 
whole  party  ultimately  arrived  safe  at  Fort  Lyttleton,  but 
it  would  seem  that  Mercer,  weak  and  faint  from  his  frac 
tured  arm,  must  have  fallen  behind,  or  in  some  way  be 
come  separated  from  them,  and  had  a  long,  solitary,  and 
painful  struggle  through  the  wilderness,  reaching  the  fort 
sick,  weary,  and  half  famished.*  We  shall  have  to  speak 
hereafter  of  his  services  when  under  the  standard  of 
Washington,  whose  friend  and  neighbor  he  subsequently 
l>ecame.t 

*  "  We  hear  that  Captain  Mercer  was  fourteen  days  in  getting  to  Fort 
Lyttleton.  He  had  a  miraculous  escape,  living  ten  days  on  two  dried 
clams  and  a  rattlesnake,  with  the  assistance  of  a  few  berries."— New  York 
Mercury  for  October  4,  1756. 

f  Mercer  was  a  Scotchman,  about  thirty-four  years  of  age.  About  ten 
years  previously  he  had  served  as  assistant-surgeon  in  the  forces  of  Charles 
Edward,  and  followed  his  standard  to  the  disastrous  field  of  Culloden. 
After  the  defeat  of  the  "Chevalier,"  he  had  escaped  by  the  way  of  Inver 
ness  to  America,  and  taken  up  his  residence  on  the  frontier  of  Pennsyl 
vania. 

YOL.  L— 18 


CHAPTEB  XXL 

FOUNDING  OP  PORT  LOUDOUN.— WASHINGTON'S  TOUR  OP  INSPECTION.—!** 
EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  MILITIA  SYSTEM.— GENTLEMEN  SOLDIERS.— CROSS* 
PURPOSES  WITH  DINWIDDIE. — MILITARY  AFFAIRS  IN  THE  NORTH. — DELAYS 
OF  LORD  LOUDOUN.— ACTIVITY  OF  MONTCALM.— LOUDOUN  IN  WINTER  QUAR 
TERS. 

HBOUGHOUT  the  summer  of  1756,  Washing, 
ton  exerted  himself  diligently  in  carrying  out 
measures  determined  upon  for  frontier  secur 
ity.  The  great  fortress  at  Winchester  was  commenced, 
and  the  work  urged  forward  as  expeditiously  as  the 
delays  and  perplexities  incident  to  a  badly  organized 
service  would  permit.  It  received  the  name  of  Fort 
Loudoun,  in  honor  of  the  commander-in-chief,  whose 
arrival  in  Virginia  was  hopefully  anticipated. 

As  to  the  sites  of  the  frontier  posts,  they  were  decided 
upon  by  Washington  and  his  officers,  after  frequent  and 
long  consultations ;  parties  were  sent  out  to  work  on 
them,  and  men  recruited,  and  militia  drafted  to  garrison 
them.  Washington  visited  occasionally  such  as  were  in 
progress,  and  near  at  hand.  It  was  a  service  of  some 
peril,  for  the  mountains  and  forests  were  still  infested 
by  prowling  savages,  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of 

800 


INEFFICIENCY  OF  THE  MILITIA.  291 

these  new  forts.  At  one  time  when  he  was  reconnoiter- 
ing  a  wild  part  of  the  country,  attended  merely  by  a  ser 
vant  and  a  guide,  two  men  were  murdered  by  the  Indians 
in  a  solitary  defile  shortly  after  he  had  passed  through  it 

In  the  autumn,  he  made  a  tour  of  inspection  along  the 
whole  line,  accompanied  by  his  friend,  Captain  Hugh 
Mercer,  who  had  recovered  from  his  recent  wounds. 
This  tour  furnished  repeated  proofs  of  the  inefficiency  ol 
the  militia  system.  In  one  place  he  attempted  to  raise 
a  force  with  which  to  scour  a  region  infested  by  roving 
bands  of  savages.  After  waiting  several  days,  but  five 
men  answered  to  his  summons.  In  another  place,  where 
three  companies  had  been  ordered  to  the  relief  of  a  fort, 
attacked  by  the  Indians,  all  that  could  be  mustered  were 
a  captain,  a  lieutenant,  and  seven  or  eight  men. 

"When  the  militia  were  drafted,  and  appeared  under 
arms,  the  case  was  not  much  better.  It  was  now  late  in 
the  autumn;  their  term  of  service,  by  the  act  of  the 
legislature,  expired  in  December  —  half  of  the  time, 
therefore,  was  lost  in  marching  out  and  home.  Their 
waste  of  provisions  was  enormous.  To  be  put  on  allow 
ance,  like  other  soldiers,  they  considered  an  indignity. 
They  would  sooner  starve  than  carry  a  few  days'  pro 
visions  on  their  backs.  On  the  march,  when  breakfast 
was  wanted,  they  would  knock  down  the  first  beeves  they 
met  with,  and,  after  regaling  themselves,  march  on  till 
dinner,  when  they  would  take  the  same  method ;  and  so 
lor  supper,  to  the  great  oppression  of  the  people.  For 


292  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  want  of  proper  military  laws,  they  were  obstinate, 
self-willed,  and  perverse.  Every  individual  had  his  own 
crude  notion  of  things,  and  would  undertake  to  direct. 
If  his  advice  were  neglected,  he  would  think  himself 
slighted,  abused,  and  injured,  and,  to  redress  himself, 
would  depart  for  his  home. 

The  garrisons  were  weak  for  want  of  men,  but  more 
so  from  indolence  and  irregularity.  Not  one  was  in  a 
posture  of  defense;  few  but  might  be  surprised  with 
the  greatest  ease.  At  one  fort,  the  Indians  rushed  from 
their  lurking-place,  pounced  upon  several  children  play 
ing  under  the  walls,  and  bore  them  off  before  they  were 
discovered.  Another  fort  was  surprised,  and  many  of 
the  people  massacred  in  the  same  manner.  In  the 
course  of  his  tour,  as  he  and  his  party  approached  a 
fort,  he  heard  a  quick  firing  for  several  minutes;  con 
cluding  that  it  was  attacked,  they  hastened  to  its  relief, 
but  found  the  garrison  were  merely  amusing  themselves 
firing  at  a  mark  or  for  wagers.  In  this  way  they  would 
waste  their  ammunition  as  freely  as  they  did  their  pro 
visions.  In  the  meantime,  the  inhabitants  of  the  coun 
try  were  in  a  wretched  situation,  feeling  the  little  de 
pendence  to  be  put  on  militia,  who  were  slow  in  coming 
to  their  assistance,  indifferent  about  their  preservation, 
unwilling  to  continue,  and  regardless  of  everything  but 
of  their  own  ease.  In  short,  they  were  so  apprehensive 
of  approaching  ruin,  that  the  whole  back  country  was 
in  a  general  motion  towards  the  southern  colonies. 


CROSS-PURPOSES.  293 

From  the  Catawba,  lie  was  escorted  along  a  range  of 
forts  by  a  colonel,  and  about  thirty  men,  chiefly  officers. 
"With  'this  small  company  of  irregulars,"  says  he, 
"  with  whom  order,  regularity,  circumspection,  and  vigil 
ance  were  matters  of  derision  and  contempt,  we  set  out, 
and,  by  the  protection  of  Providence,  reached  Augusta 
Court-house  in  seven  days,  without  meeting  the  enemy ; 
otherwise,  we  must  have  fallen  a  sacrifice,  through  the 
indiscretion  of  these  whooping,  hallooing,  gentlemen  sol 
diers!" 

How  lively  a  picture  does  this  give  of  the  militia  sys 
tem  at  all  times,  when  not  subjected  to  strict  military 
law. 

What  rendered  this  year's  service  peculiarly  irksome 
and  embarrassing  to  Washington,  was  the  nature  of  his 
correspondence  with  Governor  Dinwiddie.  That  gentle 
man,  either  from  the  natural  hurry  and  confusion  of  his 
mind,  or  from  a  real  disposition  to  perplex,  was  ex 
tremely  ambiguous  and  unsatisfactory  in  most  of  his  or 
ders  and  replies.  "So  much  am  I  kept  in  the  dark," 
says  Washington,  in  one  of  his  letters,  "  that  I  do  not 
know  whether  to  prepare  for  the  offensive  or  defensive. 
What  would  be  absolutely  necessary  for  the  one,  would 
be  quite  useless  for  the  other."  And  again  :  "  The  orders 
I  receive  are  full  of  ambiguity.  I  am  left  like  a  wanderer 
in  the  wilderness,  to  proceed  at  hazard.  I  am  answerable 
for  consequences,  and  blamed,  without  the  privilege  of 
defense." 


294  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  nothing  was  this  disposition  to  perplex  more  appar^ 
ent  than  in  the  governor's  replies  respecting  Fort  Cum 
berland.  Washington  had  repeatedly  urged  the  aban 
donment  of  this  fort  as  a  place  of  frontier  deposit,  being 
within  the  bounds  of  another  province,  and  out  of  the 
track  of  Indian  incursion  ;  so  that  often  the  alarm  would 
not  reach  there  until  after  the  mischief  had  been  effected. 
He  applied,  at  length,  for  particular  and  positive  direc 
tions  from  the  governor  on  this  head.  "  The  following," 
says  he,  "  is  an  exact  copy  of  his  answer  :  '  Fort  Cumber 
land  is  a  king's  fort,  and  built  chiefly  at  the  charge  of  the 
colony,  therefore  properly  under  our  direction  until  a 
new  governor  is  appointed.'  Now,  whether  I  am  to  un 
derstand  this  aye  or  no  to  the  plain  simple  question 
asked,  Is  the  fort  to  be  continued  or  not  ?  I  know  not. 
But  in  all  important  matters  I  am  directed  in  this  am 
biguous  and  uncertain  way." 

Governor  Dinwiddie  subsequently  made  himself  ex 
plicit  on  this  point.  Taking  offense  at  some  of  Washing 
ton's  comments  on  the  military  affairs  of  the  frontier,  he 
made  the  stand  of  a  self-willed  and  obstinate  man,  in  the 
case  of  Fort  Cumberland ;  and  represented  it  in  such 
light  to  Lord  Loudoun,  as  to  draw  from  his  lordship  an 
order  that  it  should  be  kept  up :  and  an  implied  censure 
of  the  conduct  of  Washington  in  slighting  a  post  of  such 
paramount  importance.  "I  cannot  agree  with  Colonel 
Washington,"  writes  his  lordship,  "  in  not  drawing  in  the 
posts  from  the  stockade  forts,  in  order  to  defend  that  ad- 


CROSS-PURPOSES.  295 

vanced  one ;  and  I  should  imagine  much  more  of  the 
frontier  will  be  exposed  by  retiring  your  advanced  posts 
near  Winchester,  where  I  understand  he  is  retired ;  for, 
from  your  letter,  I  take  it  for  granted  he  has  before  this 
executed  his  plan,  without  waiting  for  any  advice.  If  he 
leaves  any  of  the  great  quantity  of  stores  behind,  it  will 
be  very  unfortunate,  and  he  ought  to  consider  that  it 
must  lie  at  his  own  door.'1 

Thus  powerfully  supported,  Dinwiddie  went  so  far  as 
to  order  that  the  garrisons  should  be  withdrawn  from 
the  stockades  and  small  frontier  forts,  and  most  of  the 
troops  from  Winchester,  to  strengthen  Fort  Cumberland, 
which  was  now  to  become  head-quarters ;  thus  weaken 
ing  the  most  important  points  and  places,  to  concentrate 
a  force  where  it  was  not  wanted,  and  would  be  out  of  the 
way  in  most  cases  of  alarm.  By  these  meddlesome  moves, 
made  by  Governor  Dinwiddie  from  a  distance,  without 
knowing  anything  of  the  game,  all  previous  arrangements 
were  reversed,  everything  was  thrown  into  confusion,  and 
enormous  losses  and  expenses  were  incurred. 

"  Whence  it  arises,  or  why,  I  am  truly  ignorant,"  writes 
Washington  to  Mr.  Speaker  Kobinson,  "  but  my  strong 
est  representations  of  matters  relative  to  the  frontiers 
are  disregarded  as  idle  and  frivolous ;  my  propositions 
and  measures  as  partial  and  selfish ;  and  all  my  sincerest 
endeavors  for  the  service  of  my  country  are  perverted  to 
the  worst  purposes.  My  orders  are  dark  and  uncertain  ,* 
to-day  approved,  to-morrow  disapproved." 


296  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Whence  all  this  contradiction  and  embarrassment  arose 
has  since  been  explained,  and  with  apparent  reason. 
Governor  Dinwiddie  had  never  recovered  from  the  pique 
caused  by  the  popular  elevation  of  Washington  to  the 
command  in  preference  to  his  favorite,  Colonel  Innes. 
His  irritation  was  kept  alive  by  a  little  Scottish  faction, 
who  were  desirous  of  disgusting  Washington  with  the 
service,  so  as  to  induce  him  to  resign,  and  make  way  for 
his  rival.  They  might  have  carried  their  point  during 
the  panic  at  Winchester,  had  not  his  patriotism  and  his 
sympathy  with  the  public  distress  been  more  powerful 
than  his  self-love.  He  determined,  he  said,  to  bear  up 
under  these  embarrassments  in  the  hope  of  better  regu 
lations  when  Lord  Loudoun  should  arrive  ;  to  whom 
he  looked  for  the  future  fate  of  Virginia. 

While  these  events  were  occurring  on  the  Virginia 
frontier,  military  affairs  went  on  tardily  and  heavily  at 
the  north.  The  campaign  against  Canada,  which  was  to 
have  opened  early  in  the  year,  hung  fire.  The  armament 
coming  out  for  the  purpose,  under  Lord  Loudoun, 
was  delayed  through  the  want  of  energy  and  union  in  the 
British  cabinet.  General  Abercrombie,  who  was  to  be 
next  in  command  to  his  lordship,  and  to  succeed  to  Gen 
eral  Shirley,  set  sail  in  advance  for  New  York  with  two 
regiments,  but  did  not  reach  Albany,  the  head-quarters 
of  military  operation,  until  the  25th  of  June.  He  billeted 
his  soldiers  upon  the  town,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  talked  of  ditching  and  stockading  it, 


AFFAIRS  IN  THE  NORTH.  297 

but  postponed  all  exterior  enterprises  until  the  arrival 
of  Lord  Loudoun  ;  then  the  campaign  was  to  open  in 
earnest. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  came  word  that  the  forts  Ontario 
and  Oswego,  on  each  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Oswego 
River,  were  menaced  by  the  French.  They  had  been 
imperfectly  constructed  by  Shirley,  and  were  insuffi 
ciently  garrisoned,  yet  contained  a  great  amount  of  mili 
tary  and  naval  stores,  and  protected  the  vessels  which 
cruised  on  Lake  Ontario. 

Major-general  Webb  was  ordered  by  Abercrombie  to 
hold  himself  in  readiness  to  march  with  one  regiment  to 
the  relief  of  these  forts,  but  received  no  further  orders. 
Everything  awaited  the  arrival  at  Albany  of  Lord  Lou 
doun,  which  at  length  took  place,  on  the  29th  of  July. 
There  were  now  at  least  ten  thousand  troops,  regulars 
and  provincials,  loitering  in  an  idle  camp  at  Albany,  yet 
relief  to  Oswego  was  still  delayed.  Lord  Loudoun  was  in 
favor  of  it,  but  the  governments  of  New  York  and  New 
England  urged  the  immediate  reduction  of  Crown  Point, 
as  necessary  for  the  security  of  their  frontier.  After 
much  debate,  it  was  agreed  that  General  "Webb  should 
march  to  the  relief  of  Oswego.  He  left  Albany  on  the 
12th  of  August,  but  had  scarce  reached  the  carrying- 
place,  between  the  Mohawk  River  and  Wood  Creek,  when 
he  received  news  that  Oswego  was  reduced,  and  its  gar 
rison  captured.  While  the  British  commanders  had  de 
bated,  Field-marshal  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  newly 


298  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

arrived  from  France,  had  acted.  He  was  a  different  kind 
of  soldier  from  Abercrombie  or  Loudoun.  A  capacious 
mind  and  enterprising  spirit  animated  a  small,  but  active 
and  untiring  frame.  Quick  in  thought,  quick  in  speech, 
quicker  still  in  action,  he  comprehended  everything  at  a 
glance,  and  moved  from  point  to  point  of  the  province 
with  a  celerity  and  secrecy  that  completely  baffled  his 
slow  and  pondering  antagonists.  Crown  Point  and  Ticon- 
deroga  were  visited,  and  steps  taken  to  strengthen  their 
works,  and  provide  for  their  security ;  then  hastening  to 
Montreal,  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  force  of  regu 
lars,  Canadians,  and  Indians ;  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence 
to  Lake  Ontario ;  blocked  up  the  mouth  of  the  Os- 
wego  by  his  vessels,  landed  his  guns,  and  besieged 
the  two  forts ;  drove  the  garrison  out  of  one  into  the 
other ;  killed  the  commander,  Colonel  Mercer,  and  com 
pelled  the  garrisons  to  surrender,  prisoners  of  war. 
With  the  forts  was  taken  an  immense  amount  of  mili 
tary  stores,  ammunition,  and  provisions;  one  hundred 
and  twenty-one  cannon,  fourteen  mortars,  six  vessels 
of  war,  a  vast  number  of  bateaux,  and  three  chests 
of  money.  His  blow  achieved,  Montcalm  returned  in 
triumph  to  Montreal,  and  sent  the  colors  of  the  cap 
tured  forts  to  be  hung  up  as  trophies  in  the  Canadian 
churches. 

The  season  was  now  too  far  advanced  for  Lord  Lou 
doun  to  enter  upon  any  great  military  enterprise ;  he 
postponed,  therefore,  the  great  northern  campaign,  sc 


LOUDOITN  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS.  29'J 

much  talked  of  and  debated,  until  the  following  year; 
and  having  taken  measures  for  the  protection  of  his 
frontiers,  and  for  more  active  operations  in  the  spring, 
returned  to  New  York,  hung  up  his  sword,  and  went  into 
comfortable  winter  quarters. 


CHAPTEE  XXIL 


WASHINGTON  VINDICATES  HIS  CONDUCT  TO  LORD  LOUDOUN. — HIS  RECEPTION 
BY  HIS  LORDSHIP.— MILITARY  PLANS.— LORD  LOUDOUN  AT  HALIFAX.— MONT- 
CALM  ON  LAKE  GEORGE. —HIS  TRIUMPHS. —LORD  LOUDOUN'S  FAILURES.— 
WASHINGTON  AT  WINCHESTER.— CONTINUED  MISUNDERSTANDINGS  WITH  DIN- 
WIDDIE.— RETURN  TO  MOUNT  VERNON. 


IKCUMSTANCES  had  led  Washington  to  think 
that  Lord  Loudoun  "  had  received  impressions 
to  his  prejudice  by  false  representations  of 
facts,"  and  that  a  wrong  idea  prevailed  at  head-quarters 
respecting  the  state  of  military  affairs  in  Virginia.  He 
was  anxious,  therefore,  for  an  opportunity  of  placing  all 
these  matters  in  a  proper  light ;  and,  understanding  that 
there  was  to  be  a  meeting  in  Philadelphia  in  the  month 
of  March,  between  Lord  Loudoun  and  the  southern  gov 
ernors,  to  consult  about  measures  of  defense  for  their 
respective  provinces,  he  wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie 
for  permission  to  attend  it. 

"I  cannot  conceive,1*  writes  Dinwiddie  in  reply,  "what 
service  you  can  be  of  in  going  there,  as  the  plan  con 
certed  will,  in  course,  be  communicated  to  you  and  the 
other  officers.  However,  as  you  seem  so  earnest  to  go,  I 
now  give  you  leave." 

300 


LETTER   TO  LORD  LOUDOUN.  301 

This  ungracious  reply  seemed  to  warrant  the  sus 
picions  entertained  by  some  of  Washington's  friends, 
that  it  was  the  busy  pen  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  which 
had  given  the  "  false  representation  of  facts  "  to  Lord 
Loudoun.  About  a  month,  therefore,  before  the  time  of 
the  meeting,  Washington  addressed  a  long  letter  to  his 
lordship,  explanatory  of  military  affairs  in  the  quarter 
where  he  had  commanded.  In  this  he  set  forth  the 
various  defects  in  the  militia  laws  of  Virginia ;  the  errors 
in  its  system  of  defense,  and  the  inevitable  confusion 
which  had  thence  resulted. 

Adverting  to  his  own  conduct :  "The  orders  I  receive," 
said  he,  "  are  full  of  ambiguity.  I  am  left  like  a  wanderer 
in  the  wilderness  to  proceed  at  hazard.  I  am  answerable 
for  consequences,  and  blamed,  without  the  privilege  of 

defense It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if,  under 

such  peculiar  circumstances,  I  should  be  sick  of  a  service 
which  promises  so  little  of  a  soldier's  reward. 

"  I  have  long  been  satisfied  of  the  impossibility  of  con 
tinuing  in  this  service  without  loss  of  honor.  Indeed,  I 
was  fully  convinced  of  it  before  I  accepted  the  command 
the  second  time,  seeing  the  cloudy  prospect  before  me ; 
and  I  did,  for  this  reason,  reject  the  offer,  until  I  was 
ashamed  any  longer  to  refuse,  not  caring  to  expose  my 
character  to  public  censure.  The  solicitations  of  the 
country  overcame  my  objections,  and  induced  me  to  ac 
cept  it.  Another  reason  has  of  late  operated  to  continue 
me  in  the  service  until  now,  and  that  is,  the  dawn  of 


302  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

hope  that  arose,  when  I  heard  your  lordship  was  des* 
tined,  by  His  Majesty,  for  the  important  command  of  his 
armies  in  America,  and  appointed  to  the  government  of 
his  dominion  of  Virginia.  Hence  it  was  that  I  drew  my 
hopes,  and  fondly  pronounced  your  lordship  our  patron. 
Although  I  have  not  the  honor  to  be  known  to  your  lord 
ship,  yet  your  name  was  familiar  to  my  ear,  on  account 
of  the  important  services  rendered  to  His  Majesty  in 
other  parts  of  the  world." 

The  manner  in  which  Washington  was  received  by 
Lord  Loudoun,  on  arriving  in  Philadelphia,  showed  him 
at  once,  that  his  long,  explanatory  letter  had  produced 
the  desired  effect,  and  that  his  character  and  conduct 
were  justly  appreciated.  During  his  sojourn  in  Philadel 
phia,  he  was  frequently  consulted  on  points  of  frontier 
service,  and  his  advice  was  generally  adopted.  On  one 
point  it  failed.  He  advised  that  an  attack  should  be 
made  on  Fort  Duquesne,  simultaneous  with  the  attempts 
on  Canada.  At  such  time  a  great  part  of  the  garrison 
would  be  drawn  away  to  aid  in  the  defense  of  that  prov 
ince,  and  a  blow  might  be  struck  more  likely  to  insure 
the  peace  and  safety  of  the  southern  frontier,  than  all  its 
forts  and  defenses. 

Lord  Loudoun,  however,  was  not  to  be  convinced,  or 
at  least  persuaded.  According  to  his  plan,  the  middle 
and  southern  provinces  were  to  maintain  a  merely 
defensive  warfare ;  and  as  Virginia  would  be  required 
to  send  four  hundred  of  her  troops  to  the  aid  of 


COLONEL  STANWIX.  303 

South  Carolina,  she  would,  in  fact,  be  left  weaker  than 
before. 

"Washington  was  also  disappointed  a  second  time,  in 
the  hope  of  having  his  regiment  placed  on  the  same  foot 
ing  as  the  regular  army,  and  of  obtaining  a  king's  com 
mission  ;  the  latter  he  was  destined  never  to  hold. 

His  representations  with  respect  to  Fort  Cumberland 
had  the  desired  effect  in  counteracting  the  mischievous 
intermeddling  of  Dinwiddie.  The  Virginia  troops  an<J 
stores  were  ordered  to  be  again  removed  to  Fort  Lou- 
doun,  at  "Winchester,  which  once  more  became  head 
quarters,  while  Fort  Cumberland  was  left  to  be  occupied 
by  a  Maryland  garrison.  "Washington  was  instructed, 
likewise,  to  correspond  and  cooperate,  in  military  affairs, 
with  Colonel  Stanwix,  who  was  stationed  on  the  Pennsyl 
vania  frontier,  with  five  hundred  men  from  the  Royal 
American  regiment,  and  to  whom  he  would  be,  in  some 
measure,  subordinate.  This  proved  a  correspondence  of 
friendship,  as  well  as  duty ;  Colonel  Stanwix  being  a  gen 
tleman  of  high  moral  worth,  as  well  as  great  ability  in 
military  affairs. 

The  great  plan  of  operations  at  the  north  was  again 
doomed  to  failure.  The  reduction  of  Crown  Point,  on 
Lake  Champlain,  which  had  long  been  meditated,  was 
laid  aside  and  the  capture  of  Louisburg  substituted,  as  an 
acquisition  of  far  greater  importance.  This  was  a  place 
of  great  consequence,  situated  on  the  isle  of  Cape  Breton, 
and  strongly  fortified.  It  commanded  the  fisheries  of 


804  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Newfoundland,  overawed  New  England,  and  was  a  main 
bulwark  to  Acadia. 

In  the  course  of  July,  Lord  Loudoun  set  sail  for  Hali 
fax  with  all  the  troops  he  could  collect,  amounting  to 
about  six  thousand  men,  to  join  with  Admiral  Holbourne, 
who  had  just  arrived  at  that  port  with  eleven  ships  of 
the  line,  a  fire-ship,  bomb-ketch,  and  fleet  of  transports, 
having  on  board  six  thousand  men.  With  this  united 
force  Lord  Loudoun  anticipated  the  certain  capture  of 
Louisburg. 

Scarce  had  the  tidings  of  his  lordship's  departure 
reached  Canada,  when  the  active  Montcalm  again  took 
the  field,  to  follow  up  the  successes  of  the  preceding 
year.  Fort  William  Henry,  which  Sir  Wm.  Johnson  had 
erected  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  George,  was  now 
his  object ;  it  commanded  the  lake,  and  was  an  important 
protection  to  the  British  frontier.  A  brave  old  officer, 
Colonel  Monro,  with  about  five  hundred  men,  formed  the 
garrison ;  more  than  three  times  that  number  of  militia 
were  intrenched  near  by.  Montcalm  had,  early  in  the 
season,  made  three  ineffectual  attempts  upon  the  fort ; 
he  now  trusted  to  be  more  successful.  Collecting  his 
forces  from  Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga,  and  the  adjacent 
posts,  with  a  considerable  number  of  Canadians  and  In 
dians,  altogether  nearly  eight  thousand  men,  he  advanced 
up  the  lake,  on  the  1st  of  August,  in  a  fleet  of  boats,  with 
swarms  of  Indian  canoes  in  the  advance.  The  fort  came 
near  being  surprised ;  but  the  troops  encamped  without 


FALL  OF  FORT  WILLIAM  HENRY.  305 

it  abandoned  their  tents  and  hurried  within  the  works. 
A  summons  to  surrender  was  answered  by  a  brave  defi 
ance.  Montcalm  invested  the  fort,  made  his  approaches, 
and  battered  it  with  his  artillery.  For  five  days  its  vet 
eran  commander  kept  up  a  vigorous  defense,  trusting  to 
receive  assistance  from  General  Webb,  who  had  failed  to 
relieve  Fort  Oswego  in  the  preceding  year,  and  who  was 
now  at  Fort  Edward,  about  fifteen  miles  distant,  with 
upwards  of  five  thousand  men.  Instead  of  this,  Webb,  who 
overrated  the  French  forces,  sent  him  a  letter,  advising 
him  to  capitulate.  The  letter  was  intercepted  by  Mont- 
calm,  but  still  forwarded  to  Monro.  The  obstinate  old 
soldier,  however,  persisted  in  his  defense,  until  most  of 
his  cannon  were  burst,  and  his  ammunition  expended. 
At  length,  in  the  month  of  August,  he  hung  out  a  flag  of 
truce,  and  obtained  honorable  terms  from  an  enemy  who 
knew  how  to  appreciate  his  valor.  Montcalm  demolished 
the  fort,  carried  off  all  the  artillery  and  munitions  of  war, 
with  vessels  employed  in  the  navigation  of  the  lake,  and 
having  thus  completed  his  destruction  of  the  British  de 
fences  on  this  frontier,  returned  once  more  in  triumph 
with  the  spoils  of  victory,  to  hang  up  fresh  trophies  in 
the  churches  of  Canada. 

Lord  Loudoun  in  the  meantime  formed  his  junction 
with  Admiral  Holbourne  at  Halifax,  and  the  troops  were 
embarked  with  all  diligence  on  board  of  the  transports. 
Unfortunately,  the  French  were  again  too  quick  for  them. 
Admiral  de  Bois  de  la  Mothe  had  arrived  at  Louisburg, 
VOL.  i.— 20 


306  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

with  a  large  naval  and  land  force;  it  was  ascertained 
that  he  had  seventeen  ships  of  the  line,  and  three  frig 
ates,  quietly  moored  in  the  harbor ;  that  the  place  was 
well  fortified  and  supplied  with  provisions  and  ammuni 
tion,  and  garrisoned  with  six  thousand  regular  troops, 
three  thousand  natives,  and  thirteen  hundred  Indians. 

Some  hot-heads  would  have  urged  an  attempt  against 
all  such  array  of  force,  but  Lord  Loudoun  was  aware  of 
the  probability  of  defeat,  and  the  disgrace  and  ruin  that 
it  would  bring  upon  British  arms  in  America.  He  wisely, 
though  ingloriously,  returned  to  New  York.  Admiral 
Holbourne  made  a  silly  demonstration  of  his  fleet  off  the 
harbor  of  Louisburg,  approaching  within  two  miles  of 
the  batteries,  but  retired  on  seeing  the  French  admiral 
preparing  to  unmoor.  He  afterwards  returned  with  a 
reinforcement  of  four  ships  of  the  line;  cruised  before 
Louisburg,  endeavoring  to  draw  the  enemy  to  an  engage 
ment,  which  De  la  Mothe  had  the  wisdom  to  decline ;  was 
overtaken  by  a  hurricane,  in  which  one  of  his  ships  was 
lost,  eleven  were  dismasted,  others  had  to  throw  their 
guns  overboard,  and  all  returned  in  a  shattered  condition 
to  England.  Thus  ended  the  northern  campaign  by  land 
and  sea,  a  subject  of  great  mortification  to  the  nation,  and 
ridicule  and  triumph  to  the  enemy. 

During  these  unfortunate  operations  to  the  north, 
Washington  was  stationed  at  Winchester,  shorn  of  part 
of  his  force  by  the  detachment  to  South  Carolina,  and 
left  with  seven  hundred  men  to  defend  a  frontier  of  more 


CONTINUED  MISUNDERSTANDING.  307 

than  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  extent.  The  cap 
ture  and  demolition  of  Oswego  by  Montcalm  had  pro 
duced  a  disastrous  effect.  The  whole  country  of  the  Fivef 
Nations  was  abandoned  to  the  French.  The  frontiers  of 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  were  harassed  by 
repeated  inroads  of  French  and  Indians,  and  Washington 
had  the  mortification  to  see  the  noble  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah  almost  deserted  by  its  inhabitants,  and  fast 
relapsing  into  a  wilderness. 

The  year  wore  away  on  his  part  in  the  harassing  ser 
vice  of  defending  a  wide  frontier  with  an  insufficient  and 
badly  organized  force,  and  the  vexations  lie  experienced 
were  heightened  by  continual  misunderstandings  with 
Governor  Dinwiddie.  From  the  ungracious  tenor  of  sev 
eral  of  that  gentleman's  letters,  and  from  private  informa 
tion,  he  was  led  to  believe  that  some  secret  enemy  had 
been  making  false  representations  of  his  motives  and 
conduct,  and  prejudicing  the  governor  against  him.  He 
vindicated  himself  warmly  from  the  alleged  aspersions, 
proudly  appealing  to  the  whole  course  of  his  public 
career  in  proof  of  their  falsity.  "It  is  uncertain,"  said 
he,  "in  what  light  my  services  may  have  appeared  to 
your  honor ;  but  this  I  know,  and  it  is  the  highest  con 
solation  I  am  capable  of  feeling,  that  no  man  that  ever 
was  employed  in  a  public  capacity  has  endeavored  to 
discharge  the  trust  reposed  in  him  with  greater  honesty 
and  more  zeal  for  the  country's  interest  than  I  have 
done ;  and  if  there  is  any  person  living  who  can  say,  with 


308  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

justice,  that  I  have  offered  any  intentional  wrong  to  the 
public,  I  will  cheerfully  submit  to  the  most  ignominious 
punishment  that  an  injured  people  ought  to  inflict.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  hard  to  have  my  character  arraigned, 
and  my  actions  condemned,  without  a  hearing." 

His  magnanimous  appeal  had  but  little  effect.  Dinwid- 
die  was  evidently  actuated  by  the  petty  pique  of  a  nar 
row  and  illiberal  mind,  impatient  of  contradiction,  even 
when  in  error.  He  took  advantage  of  his  official  station 
to  vent  his  spleen  and  gratify  his  petulance  in  a  variety 
of  ways  incompatible  with  the  courtesy  of  a  gentleman. 
It  may  excite  a  grave  smile  at  the  present  day  to  find 
Washington  charged  by  this  very  small-minded  man  with 
looseness  in  his  way  of  writing  to  him ;  with  remissness 
in  his  duty  towards  him ;  and  even  with  impertinence  in 
the  able  and  eloquent  representations  which  he  felt  com 
pelled  to  make  of  disastrous  mismanagement  in  military 
affairs ;  and  still  more,  to  find  his  reasonable  request, 
after  a  long  course  of  severe  duty,  for  a  temporary  leave 
of  absence  to  attend  to  his  private  concerns,  perempto 
rily  refused,  and  that  with  as  little  courtesy  as  though 
he  were  a  mere  subaltern  seeking  to  absent  himself  on  a 
party  of  pleasure. 

The  multiplied  vexations  which  Washington  had  lat 
terly  experienced  from  this  man,  had  preyed  upon  his 
spirits,  and  contributed,  with  his  incessant  toils  and 
anxieties,  to  undermine  his  health.  For  some  time  he 
struggled  with  repeated  attacks  of  dvsentery  and  fever, 


DINWIDDIE'S  ADMINISTRATION  ENDS.  309 

and  continued  in  the  exercise  of  his  duties;  but  the 
increased  violence  of  his  malady,  and  the  urgent  advice 
of  his  friend  Dr.  Craik,  the  army  surgeon,  induced  him 
to  relinquish  his  post  towards  tho  end  of  the  year  and 
retire  to  Mount  Yernon. 

The  administration  of  Dinwiddie,  however,  was  now  at 
an  end.  He  set  sail  for  England  in  January,  1758,  very 
little  regretted,  excepting  by  his  immediate  hangers-on, 
and  leaving  a  character  overshadowed  by  the  imputation 
of  avarice  and  extortion  in  the  exaction  of  illegal  fees, 
and  of  downright  delinquency  in  regard  to  large  sums 
transmitted  to  him  by  government  to  be  paid  over  to  the 
province  in  indemnification  of  its  extra  expenses ;  for  the 
disposition  of  which  sums  he  failed  to  render  an  account. 

He  was  evidently  a  sordid,  narrow-minded,  and  some 
what  arrogant  man ;  bustling  rather  than  active ;  prone 
to  meddle  with  matters  of  which  he  was  profoundly 
ignorant,  and  absurdly  unwilling  to  have  his  ignorance 
enlightened. 


CHAPTEK  XXTTL 

WASHINGTON  RECOVERS  HIS  HEALTH.— AGAIN  IN  COMMAND  AT  FORT  LOUDOUN. 
—  ADMINISTRATION  OF  PITT.— LOUDOUN  SUCCEEDED  BY  GENERAL  ABER- 
CROMBIE. — MILITARY  ARRANGEMENTS. — WASHINGTON  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 
OF  THE  VIRGINIA  FORCES.  —  AMHERST  AGAINST  LOUISBURG.  —  GENERAL 
WOLFE. — MONTGOMERY. — CAPTURE  OF  LOUISBURG. — ABERCROMBEE  ON  LAKE 
GEORGE. — DEATH  OF  LORD  HOWE. — REPULSE  OF  ABERCROMBIE. — SUCCESS  OF 
BRADSTREET  AT  OSWEGO. 

OR  several  months  Washington  was  afflicted  by 
returns  of  his  malady,  accompanied  by  symp 
toms  indicative,  as  he  thought,  of  a  decline. 
"  My  constitution,"  writes  he  to  his  friend  Colonel  Stan- 
wix,  "  is  much  impaired,  and  nothing  can  retrieve  it  but 
the  greatest  care  and  the  most  circumspect  course  of  life. 
This  being  the  case,  as  I  have  now  no  prospect  left  of 
preferment  in  the  military  way,  and  despair  of  rendering 
that  immediate  service  which  my  country  may  require 
from  the  person  commanding  its  troops,  I  have  thoughts 
of  quitting  my  command  and  retiring  from  all  public 
business,  leaving  my  post  to  be  filled  by  some  other  per 
son  more  capable  of  the  task,  and  who  may,  perhaps, 
have  his  endeavors  crowned  with  better  success  than 
mine  have  been." 

310 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  PITT.  3li 

A  gradual  improvement  in  his  health,  and  a  change  in 
his  prospects,  encouraged  him  to  continue  in  what  really 
was  his  favorite  career,  and  at  the  beginning  of  April  he 
was  again  in  command  at  Fort  Loudoun.  Mr.  Francis 
Fauquier  had  been  appointed  successor  to  Dinwiddie, 
and,  until  he  should  arrive,  Mr.  John  Blair,  president  of 
the  council,  had,  from  his  office,  charge  of  the  govern 
ment.  In  the  latter  Washington  had  a  friend  who  appre 
ciated  his  character  and  services,  and  was  disposed  to 
carry  out  his  plans. 

The  general  aspect  of  affairs,  also,  was  more  animating, 
Under  the  able  and  intrepid  administration  of  William 
Pitt,  who  had  control  of  the  British  cabinet,  an  effort  was 
made  to  retrieve  the  disgraces  of  the  late  American  cam 
paign,  and  to  carry  on  the  war  with  greater  vigor.  The 
instructions  for  a  common  fund  were  discontinued ;  there 
was  no  more  talk  of  taxation  by  parliament.  Lord  Lou 
doun,  from  whom  so  much  had  been  anticipated,  had  dis 
appointed  by  his  inactivity,  and  been  relieved  from  a 
command  in  which  he  had  attempted  much  and  done  so 
little.  His  friends  alleged  that  his  inactivity  was  owing 
to  a  want  of  unanimity  and  cooperation  in  the  colonial 
governments,  which  paralyzed  all  his  well-meant  efforts. 
Franklin,  it  is  probable,  probed  the  matter  with  his  usual 
sagacity  when  he  characterized  him  as  a  man  "  entirely 
made  up  of  indecision." — "  Like  St.  George  on  the  signs, 
he  was  always  on  horseback,  but  never  rode  on." 

On  the  return  of  his  lordship  to  England,  the  general 


312  tlffE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

command  in  America  devolved  on  Major-general  Aber* 
crombie,  and  the  forces  were  divided  into  three  detached 
bodies ;  one,  under  Major-general  Amherst,  was  to  operate 
in  the  north  with  the  fleet  under  Boscawen,  for  the  re~ 
duction  of  Louisburg  and  the  island  of  Cape  Breton  \ 
another,  under  Abercrombie  himself,  was  to  proceed 
against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain;  and  the  third,  under  Brigadier-general  Forbes, 
who  had  the  charge  of  the  middle  and  southern  colonies, 
was  to  undertake  the  reduction  of  Fort  Duquesne.  The 
colonial  troops  were  to  be  supplied,  like  the  regulars, 
with  arms,  ammunition,  tents,  and  provisions,  at  the  ex 
pense  of  government,  but  clothed  and  paid  by  the  colo 
nies  ;  for  which  the  king  would  recommend  to  Parliament 
a  proper  compensation.  The  provincial  officers  appointed 
by  the  governors,  and  of  no  higher  rank  than  colonel, 
were  to  be  equal  in  command,  when  united  in  service 
with  those  who  held  direct  from  the  king,  according  to 
the  date  of  their  commissions.  By  these  wise  provisions 
of  Mr.  Pitt,  a  fertile  cause  of  heartburnings  and  dissen 
sions  was  removed. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  Washington  saw 
Jiis  favorite  measure  at  last  adopted,  the  reduction  of 
Fort  Duquesne ;  and  he  resolved  to  continue  in  the  ser 
vice  until  that  object  was  accomplished.  In  a  letter  to 
Stanwix,  who  was  now  a  brigadier-general,  he  modestly 
requested  to  be  mentioned  in  favorable  terms  to  General 
Forbes,  "  not,"  said  he,  "  as  a  person  who  would  depend 


MAJOR  FRANCIS  HALKET.  313 

upon  him  for  further  recommendation  to  military  prefer 
ment  (for  I  have  long  conquered  all  such  inclinations, 
and  shall  serve  this  campaign  merely  for  the  purpose  of 
affording  my  best  endeavors  to  bring  matters  to  a  conclu 
sion),  but  as  a  person  who  would  gladly  be  distinguished 
in  some  measure  from  the  common  run  of  provincial  offi 
cers,  as  I  understand  there  will  be  a  motley  herd  of  us." 
He  had  the  satisfaction  subsequently,  of  enjoying  the 
fullest  confidence  of  General  Forbes,  who  knew  too  well 
the  sound  judgment  and  practical  ability  evinced  by  him 
in  the  unfortunate  campaign  of  Braddock  not  to  be  desir 
ous  of  availing  himself  of  his  counsels. 

Washington  still  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  Vir 
ginia  troops,  now  augmented,  by  an  act  of  the  Assembly, 
to  two  regiments  of  one  thousand  men  each ;  one  led  by 
himself,  the  other  by  Colonel  Byrd ;  the  whole  destined 
to  make  a  part  of  the  army  of  General  Forbes  in  the 
expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne. 

Of  the  animation  which  he  felt  at  the  prospect  of  serv 
ing  in  this  long-desired  campaign,  and  revisiting  with  an 
effective  force  the  scene  of  past  disasters,  we  have  a  proof 
in  a  short  letter,  written  during  the  excitement  of  the  mo 
ment,  to  Major  Francis  Halket,  his  former  companion 
in  arms. 

"My  DEAR  HALKET, — Are  we  to  have  you  once  more 
among  us  ?  And  shall  we  revisit  together  a  hapless  spot, 
that  proved  so  fatal  to  many  of  our  former  brave  com- 


314:  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

panious  ?  Yes ;  and  I  rejoice  at  it,  hoping  it  will  now  be 
in  our  power  to  testify  a  just  abhorrence  of  the  cruel 
butcheries  exercised  on  our  friends  in  the  unfortunate 
day  of  General  Braddock's  defeat ;  and,  moreover,  to  show 
our  enemies  that  we  can  practice  all  that  lenity  of  which 
they  only  boast,  without  affording  any  adequate  proof." 

Before  we  proceed  to  narrate  the  expedition  against 
Fort  Duquesne,  however,  we  will  briefly  notice  the  con 
duct  of  the  two  other  expeditions,  which  formed  impor 
tant  parts  in  the  plan  of  military  operations  for  the  year. 
And  first,  of  that  against  Louisburg  and  the  Island  of 
Cape  Breton. 

Major-general  Amherst,  who  conducted  this  expedition, 
embarked  with  between  ten  and  twelve  thousand  men,  in 
the  fleet  of  Admiral  Boscawen,  and  set  sail  about  the  end 
of  May,  from  Halifax,  in  Nova  Scotia.  Along  with  him 
went  Brigadier-general  James  Wolfe,  an  officer  young  in 
years,  but  a  veteran  in  military  experience,  and  destined 
to  gain  an  almost  romantic  celebrity.  He  may  almost  be 
said  to  have  been  born  in  the  camp,  for  he  was  the  son  of 
Major-general  Wolfe,  a  veteran  officer  of  merit,  and  when 
a  lad  had  witnessed  the  battles  of  Dettingen  and  Fonte- 
noy.  While  a  mere  youth  he  had  distinguished  himself 
at  the  battle  of  Laffeldt,  in  the  Netherlands ;  and  now, 
after  having  been  eighteen  years  in  the  service,  he  was 
but  thirty-one  years  of  age.  In  America,  however,  he 
was  to  win  his  lasting  laurels. 


EFFECTING  A  LANDING.  315 

On  the  2d  of  June,  the  fleet  arrived  at  the  Bay  of  Gaba- 
rus,  about  seven  miles  to  the  west  of  Louisburg.  The 
latter  place  was  garrisoned  by  two  thousand  five  hundred 
regulars,  and  three  hundred  militia,  and  subsequently 
reinforced  by  upwards  of  four  hundred  Canadians  and 
Indians.  In  the  harbor  were  six  ships-of-the-line,  and 
five  frigates  ;  three  of  which  were  sunk  across  the  mouth. 
For  several  days  the  troops  were  prevented  from  landing 
by  boisterous  weather,  and  a  heavy  surf.  The  French 
improved  that  time  to  strengthen  a  chain  of  forts  along 
the  shore,  deepening  trenches,  and  constructing  batteries. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  preparations  for  landing  were 
made  before  daybreak.  The  troops  were  embarked  in 
boats  in  three  divisions,  under  Brigadiers  Wolfe,  Whet- 
more,  and  Laurens.  The  landing  was  to  be  attempted 
west  of  the  harbor,  at  a  place  feebly  secured.  Several 
frigates  and  sloops  previously  scoured  the  beach  with 
their  shot,  after  which  Wolfe  pulled  for  shore  with  his 
division;  the  other  two  divisions  distracting  the  atten 
tion  of  the  enemy,  by  making  a  show  of  landing  in  other 
parts.  The  surf  still  ran  high,  the  enemy  opened  a  fire 
of  cannon  and  musketry  from  their  batteries,  many  boats 
were  upset,  many  men  slain,  but  Wolfe  pushed  forward, 
sprang  into  the  water  when  the  boats  grounded,  dashed 
through  the  surf  with  his  men,  stormed  the  enemy's 
breastworks  and  batteries,  and  drove  them  from  the 
shore.  Among  the  subalterns  who  stood  by  Wolfe  on 
this  occasion,  was  an  Irish  youth,  twenty-one  years  of 


316  LIFE  Of    WASHINGTON. 

age,  named  Richard  Montgomery,  whom,  for  his  gal 
lantry,  Wolfe  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,  and  who  was 
destined,  in  after  years,  to  gain  an  imperishable  renown. 
The  other  divisions  effected  a  landing  after  a  severe  con 
flict;  artillery  and  stores  were  brought  on  shore,  and 
Louisburg  was  formally  invested. 

The  weather  continued  boisterous ;  the  heavy  cannon, 
and  the  various  munitions  necessary  for  a  siege,  were 
landed  with  difficulty.  Amherst,  moreover,  was  a  cau 
tious  man,  and  made  his  approaches  slowly,  securing  his 
camp  by  redoubts  and  epaulements.  The  Chevalier  Dru- 
cour,  who  commanded  at  Louisburg,  called  in  his  out 
posts,  and  prepared  for  a  desperate  defense  ;  keeping  up 
a  heavy  fire  from  his  batteries,  and  from  the  ships  in  the 
harbor. 

Wolfe,  with  a  strong  detachment,  surprised  at  night 
and  took  possession  of  Light-house  Point,  on  the  north 
east  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbor.  Here  he  threw 
up  batteries  in  addition  to  those  already  there,  from 
which  he  was  enabled  greatly  to  annoy  both  town  and 
shipping,  as  well  as  to  aid  Amherst  in  his  slow,  but  regu 
lar  and  sure  approaches. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  the  three  largest  of  the  enemy's 
ships  were  set  on  fire  by  a  bombshell.  On  the  night  of 
the  25th  two  other  of  the  ships  were  boarded,  sword  in 
hand,  from  boats  of  the  squadron;  one,  being  aground, 
was  burnt,  the  other  was  towed  out  of  the  harbor  in 
triumph.  The  brave  Drucour  kept  up  the  defense  until 


REJOICINGS  IN  LONDON.  317 

all  the  ships  were  either  taken  or  destroyed ;  forty,  out 
of  fifty-two  pieces  of  cannon  dismounted,  and  his  works 
mere  heaps  of  ruins.  When  driven  to  capitulate,  he  re 
fused  the  terms  proposed,  as  being  too  severe,  and  when 
threatened  with  a  general  assault,  by  sea,  and  land,  de 
termined  to  abide  it,  rather  than  submit  to  what  he  con 
sidered  a  humiliation.  The  prayers  and  petitions  of 
the  inhabitants,  however,  overcame  his  obstinacy.  The 
place  was  surrendered,  and  he  and  his  garrison  became 
prisoners  of  war.  Captain  Amherst,  brother  to  the  gen 
eral,  carried  home  the  news  to  England,  with  eleven  pair 
of  colors,  taken  at  Louisburg.  There  were  rejoicings 
throughout  the  kingdom.  The  colors  were  borne  in 
triumph  through  the  streets  of  London,  with  a  parade 
of  horse  and  foot,  kettle  drums  and  trumpets,  and  the 
thunder  of  artillery,  and  were  put  up  as  trophies  in  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral. 

Boscawen,  who  was  a  member  of  Parliament,  received 
a  unanimous  vote  of  praise  from  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  the  youthful  Wolfe,  who  returned  shortly  after  the 
victory  to  England,  was  hailed  as  the  hero  of  the  enter 
prise. 

We  have  disposed  of  one  of  the  three  great  expeditions 
contemplated  in  the  plan  of  the  year's  campaign.  The 
second  was  that  against  the  French  forts  on  Lakes 
George  and  Champlain.  At  the  beginning  of  July,  Aber- 
crombie  was  encamped  on  the  borders  of  Lake  George. 
with  between  six  and  seven  thousand  regulars,  and  up- 


318  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

wards  of  nine  thousand  provincials  from  New  England, 
New  York,  and  New  Jersey.  Major  Israel  Putnam  of 
Connecticut,  who  had  served  on  this  lake,  under  Sir  Will 
iam  Johnson,  in  the  campaign  in  which  Dieskau  was 
defeated  and  slain,  had  been  detached  with  a  scouting 
party  to  reconnoiter  the  neighborhood.  After  his  return 
and  report,  Abercrombie  prepared  to  proceed  against 
Ticonderoga,  situated  on  a  tongue  of  land  in  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  at  the  mouth  of  the  strait  communicating  with 
Lake  George. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  the  forces  were  embarked  in  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  whale-boats,  and  nine  hundred 
bateaux,  with  the  artillery  on  rafts.  The  vast  flotilla  pro 
ceeded  slowly  down  the  lake,  with  banners  and  pennons 
fluttering  in  the  summer  breeze  ;  arms  glittering  in  the 
sunshine,  and  martial  music  echoing  along  the  wood- 
clad  mountains.  With  Abercrombie  went  Lord  Howe,  a 
young  nobleman,  brave  and  enterprising,  full  of  martial 
enthusiasm,  and  endeared  to  the  soldiery  by  the  gener 
osity  of  his  disposition,  and  the  sweetness  of  his  man 
ners. 

On  the  first  night  they  bivouacked  for  some  hours  at 
Sabbath-day  Point,  but  reembarked  before  midnight 
The  next  day  they  landed  on  a  point  on  the  western  shore 
just  at  the  entrance  of  the  strait  leading  to  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  Here  they  were  formed  into  three  columns,  and 
pushed  forward. 

They  soon  came  upon  the    enemy's  advanced  guard, 


DEATH  OF  LORD  HOWE.  319 

a  battalion  encamped  behind  a  log  breastwork.  The 
French  set  fire  to  their  camp,  and  retreated.  The 
columns  kept  their  form,  and  pressed  forward,  but, 
through  ignorance  of  their  guides,  became  bewildered  in 
a  dense  forest,  fell  into  confusion,  and  blundered  upon 
each  other. 

Lord  Howe  urged  on  with  the  van  of  the  right  centre 
column.  Putnam,  who  was  with  him,  and  more  experi 
enced  in  forest  warfare,  endeavored  in  vain  to  inspire  him 
with  caution.  After  a  time  they  came  upon  a  detach 
ment  of  the  retreating  foe,  who,  like  themselves,  had  lost 
their  way.  A  severe  conflict  ensued.  Lord  Howe,  who 
gallantly  led  the  van,  was  killed  at  the  onset.  His  fall 
gave  new  ardor  to  his  troops.  The  enemy  were  routed, 
some  slain,  some  drowned,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
taken  prisoners,  including  five  officers.  Nothing  further 
was  done  that  day.  The  death  of  Lord  Howe  more  than 
counterbalanced  the  defeat  of  the  enemy.  His  loss  was 
bewailed  not  merely  by  the  army,  but  by  the  American 
people ;  for  it  is  singular  how  much  this  young  noble 
man,  in  a  short  time,  had  made  himself  beloved.  The 
point  near  which  the  troops  had  landed  still  bears  his 
name ;  the  place  where  he  fell  is  still  pointed  out ;  and 
Massachusetts  voted  him  a  monument  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

With  Lord  Howe  expired  the  master-spirit  of  the  enter 
prise.  Abercrombie  fell  back  to  the  landing-place.  The 
next  day  he  sent  out  a  strong  detachment  of  regulars. 


320  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

royal  provincials,  and  bateaux  men,  under  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Bradstreet  of  New  York,  to  secure  a  saw-mill, 
which  the  enemy  had  abandoned.  This  done,  he  followed 
on  the  same  evening  with  the  main  forces,  and  took  post 
at  the  mill,  within  two  miles  of  the  ford.  Here  he  was 
joined  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  with  between  four  and 
five  hundred  savage  warriors  from  the  Mohawk  Eiver. 

Montcalm  had  called  in  all  his  forces,  between  three 
and  four  thousand  men,  and  was  strongly  posted  behind 
deep  intrenchments  and  breastworks  eight  feet  high ; 
with  an  abatis,  of  felled  trees,  in  front  of  his  lines,  pre 
senting  a  horrid  barrier,  with  their  jagged  boughs  point 
ing  outward.  Abercrombie  was  deceived  as  to  the 
strength  of  the  French  works;  his  engineers  persuaded 
him  they  were  formidable  only  in  appearance,  but  really 
weak  and  flimsy.  Without  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  his 
cannon,  and  against  the  opinion  of  his  most  judicious 
officers,  he  gave  orders  to  storm  the  works.  Never  were 
rash  orders  more  gallantly  obeyed.  The  men  rushed 
forward  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  attempted  to  force  their 
way  through,  or  scramble  over  the  abatis,  under  a  sheet 
ed  fire  of  swivels  and  musketry.  In  the  desperation  of 
the  moment,  the  officers  even  tried  to  cut  their  way 
through  with  their  swords.  Some  even  reached  the  par 
apet,  where  they  were  shot  down.  The  breastwork  was 
too  high  to  be  surmounted,  and  gave  a  secure  covert  to 
the  enemy.  Repeated  assaults  were  made,  and  as  often 
repelled,  with  dreadful  havoc.  The  Iroquois  warriors, 


ABERCROMBIE' S  RETREAT,  32  J 

who  had  arrived  with  Sir  William  Johnson,  took  no  part, 
it  is  said,  in  this  fierce  conflict,  but  stood  aloof  as  uncon 
cerned  spectators  of  the  bloody  strife  of  white  men. 

After  four  hours  of  desperate  and  fruitless  fighting, 
Abercrombie,  who  had  all  the  time  remained  aloof  at  the 
saw-mill,  gave  up  the  ill-judged  attempt,  and  withdrew 
once  more  to  the  landing-place,  with  the  loss  of  nearly 
two  thousand  in  killed  and  wounded.  Had  not  the  vastly 
inferior  force  of  Montcalm  prevented  him  from  sallying 
beyond  his  trenches,  the  retreat  of  the  British  might 
have  been  pushed  to  a  headlong  and  disastrous  flight. 

Abercrombie  had  still  nearly  four  times  the  number 
of  the  enemy,  with  cannon,  and  all  the  means  of  carrying 
on  a  siege,  with  every  prospect  of  success ;  but  the  fail 
ure  of  this  rash  assault  seems  completely  to  have  dis 
mayed  him.  The  next  day  he  reembarked  all  his  troops, 
and  returned  across  that  lake  where  his  disgraced  ban 
ners  had  recently  waved  so  proudly. 

While  the  general  was  planning  fortifications  on  Lake 
George,  Colonel  Bradstreet  obtained  permission  to  carry 
into  effect  an  expedition  which  he  had  for  some  time 
meditated,  and  which  had  been  a  favored  project  with 
the  lamented  Howe.  This  was  to  reduce  Fort  Frontenac, 
the  stronghold  of  the  French  on  the  north  side  of  the 
entrance  of  Lake  Ontario,  commanding  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Lawrence.  This  post  was  a  central  point  of  Indian 
trade,  whither  the  tribes  resorted  from  all  parts  of  a  vast 
interior,  sometimes  a  distance  of  a  thousand  miles,  to 
VOL.  i.— 21 


322  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

traffic  away  their  peltries  with  the  fur-traders.  It  was, 
moreover,  a  magazine  for  the  more  southern  posts,  among 
which  was  Fort  Duquesne  on  the  Ohio. 

Bradstreet  was  an  officer  of  spirit.  Pushing  his  way 
along  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  and  by  the  Oneida, 
where  he  was  joined  by  several  warriors  of  the  Six  Na 
tions,  he  arrived  at  Oswego  in  August,  with  nearly  three 
thousand  men,  the  greater  part  of  them  provincial  troops 
of  New  York  and  Massachusetts.  Embarking  at  Oswego 
in  open  boats,  he  crossed  Lake  Ontario,  and  landed 
within  a  mile  of  Frontenac.  The  fort  mounted  sixty 
guns,  and  several  mortars,  yet,  though  a  place  of  such 
importance,  the  garrison  consisted  of  merely  one  hundred 
and  ten  men,  and  a  few  Indians.  These  either  fled,  or 
surrendered  at  discretion.  In  the  fort  was  an  immense 
amount  of  merchandise  and  military  stores,  part  of  the 
latter  intended  for  the  supply  of  Fort  Duquesne.  In  the 
harbor  were  nine  armed  vessels,  some  of  them  carrying 
eighteen  guns,  the  whole  of  the  enemy's  shipping  on  the 
lake.  Two  of  these  Colonel  Bradstreet  freighted  with 
part  of  the  spoils  of  the  fort,  the  others  he  destroyed ; 
then  having  dismantled  the  fortifications,  and  laid  waste 
everything  which  he  could  not  carry  away,  he  re  crossed 
the  lake  to  Oswego,  and  returned  with  his  troops  to 
the  army  OIL  Lake  George. 


CHAPTEK  XXIV. 


OPERATIONS.  —  WASHINGTON  ORDERS  OUT  THE  MILITIA.  —  MISSION  TO 
WILLIAM8BURG.  —  HALT  AT  MR.  CHAMBERLAYNE'S.  —  MRS.  MARTHA  CUSTIS. 
—  A  BRIEF  COURTSHIP.  —  AN  ENGAGEMENT.  —  RETURN  TO  WINCHESTER.^ 
THE  RIFLE  DRESS.  —  INDIAN  SCOUTS.  —  WASHINGTON  ELECTED  TO  THE  HOUSE 
OF  BURGESSES.  —  TIDINGS  OF  AMHERST'S  SUCCESS.  —  THE  NEW  ROAD  TO 
FORT  DUQUESNE.  —  MARCH  FOR  THE  FORT.  —  INDISCREET  CONDUCT  OF 
MAJOR  GRANT.  —  DISASTROUS  CONSEQUENCES.  —  WASHINGTON  ADVANCES 
AGAINST  FORT  DUQUESNE.  —  END  OF  THE  EXPEDITION.  —  WASHINGTON  RE 
TURNS  HOME.  —  HIS  MARRIAGE. 


PEEATIONS  went  on  slowly  in  that  part  of  the 
year's  campaign  in  which  Washington  was  im 
mediately  engaged — the  expedition  against  Fort 
Duquesne.  Brigadier  -  general  Forbes,  who  was  com- 
mander-in-chief,  was  detained  at  Philadelphia  by  those 
delays  and  cross-purposes  incident  to  military  affairs  in 
a  new  country.  Colonel  Bouquet,  who  was  to  command 
the  advanced  division,  took  his  station,  with  a  corps  of 
regulars,  at  Baystown,  in  the  centre  of  Pennsylvania, 
There  slowly  assembled  troops  from  various  parts.  Three 
thousand  Pennsylvanians,  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  South 
Carolinians,  and  a  few  hundred  men  from  elsewhere. 

Washington,  in  the  meantime,  gathered  together  his 
scattered  regiments  at  Winchester,  some  from  a  distance 

323 


324  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  two  hundred  miles,  and  diligently  disciplined  his 
recruits.  He  had  two  Virginia  regiments  under  hinij 
amounting,  when  complete,  to  about  nineteen  hundred 
men.  Seven  hundred  Indian  warriors,  also,  came  lag 
ging  into  his  camp,  lured  by  the  prospect  of  a  successful 
campaign. 

The  president  of  the  council  had  given  Washington  a 
discretionary  power  in  the  present  juncture  to  order  out 
militia  for  the  purpose  of  garrisoning  the  fort  in  the  ab 
sence  of  the  regular  troops.  Washington  exercised  the 
power  with  extreme  reluctance.  He  considered  it,  he 
said,  an  affair  of  too  important  and  delicate  a  nature  for 
him  to  manage,  and  apprehended  the  discontent  it  might 
occasion.  In  fact,  his  sympathies  were  always  with  the 
husbandmen  and  the  laborers  of  the  soil,  and  he  deplored 
the  evils  imposed  upon  them  by  arbitrary  drafts  for  mili 
tary  service — a  scruple  not  often  indulged  by  youthful 
commanders. 

The  force  thus  assembling  was  in  want  of  arms,  tents, 
field-equipage,  and  almost  every  requisite.  Washington 
had  made  repeated  representations,  by  letter,  of  the  des 
titute  state  of  the  Virginia  troops,  but  without  avail ;  he 
was  now  ordered  by  Sir  John  St.  Glair,  the  quartermas 
ter-general  of  the  forces,  under  General  Forbes,  to  repair 
to  Williamsburg,  and  lay  the  state  of  the  case  before  the 
council.  He  set  off  promptly  on  horseback,  attended  by 
Bishop,  the  well-trained  military  servant,  who  had  served 
the  late  General  Braddock.  It  proved  an  eventful  jour* 


JfffiS!  MARTHA   CUSTIS,  325 

aey,  though  not  in  a  military  point  of  view.  In  crossing 
a  ferry  of  the  Pamunkey,  a  branch  of  York  Kiver,  he  fell 
in  company  with  a  Mr.  Chamberlayne,  who  lived  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  who,  in  the  spirit  of  Virginian  hospi 
tality,  claimed  him  as  a  guest.  It  was  with  difficulty 
Washington  could  be  prevailed  on  to  halt  for  dinner,  so 
impatient  was  he  to  arrive  at  Williamsburg,  and  accom 
plish  his  mission. 

Among  the  guests  at  Mr.  Chamberlayne's  was  a  young 
and  blooming  widow,  Mrs.  Martha  Custis,  daughter  of 
Mr.  John  Dandridge,  both  patrician  names  in  the  prov 
ince.  Her  husband,  John  Parke  Custis,  had  been  dead 
about  three  years,  leaving  her  with  two  young  childrens 
and  a  large  fortune.  She  is  represented  as  being  rather 
below  the  middle  size,  but  extremely  well  shaped,  with 
an  agreeable  countenance,  dark  hazel  eyes  and  hair,  and 
those  frank,  engaging  manners,  so  captivating  in  Southern 
women.  We  are  not  informed  whether  Washington  had 
met  with  her  before;  probably  not  during  her  widow 
hood,  as  during  that  time  he  had  been  almost  continually 
on  the  frontier.  We  have  shown  that,  with  all  his  gravity 
and  reserve,  he  was  quickly  susceptible  to  female  charms ; 
and  they  may  have  had  a  greater  effect  upon  him  when 
thus  casually  encountered  in  fleeting  moments  snatched 
irom  the  cares  and  perplexities  and  rude  scenes  of  fron 
tier  warfare.  At  any  rate,  his  heart  appears  to  have  been 
taken  by  surprise. 

The  dinner,  which  in  those  days  was  an  earlier  meal 


326  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON, 

than  at  present,  seemed  all  too  short.  The  afternoon 
passed  away  like  a  dream.  Bishop  was  punctual  to  the 
orders  he  had  received  on  halting ;  the  horses  pawed  at 
the  door ;  but  for  once  Washington  loitered  in  the  path 
of  duty.  The  horses  were  countermanded,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  next  morning  that  he  was  again  in  the  saddle, 
spurring  for  Williamsburg.  Happily  the  White  House, 
the  residence  of  Mrs.  Custis,  was  in  New  Kent  County, 
at  no  great  distance  from  that  city,  so  that  he  had  oppor 
tunities  of  visiting  her  in  the  intervals  of  business.  His 
time  for  courtship,  however,  was  brief.  Military  duties 
called  him  back  almost  immediately  to  Winchester ;  but 
he  feared,  should  he  leave  the  matter  in  suspense,  some 
more  enterprising  rival  might  supplant  him  during  his 
absence,  as  in  the  case  of  Miss  Philipse,  at  New  York. 
He  improved,  therefore,  his  brief  opportunity  to  the 
utmost.  The  blooming  widow  had  many  suitors,  but 
Washington  was  graced  with  that  renown  so  ennobling 
in  the  eyes  of  woman.  In  a  word,  before  they  separated, 
they  had  mutually  plighted  their  faith,  and  the  marriage 
was  to  take  place  as  soon  as  the  campaign  against  Fort 
Duquesne  was  at  an  end. 

Before  returning  to  Winchester,  Washington  was 
obliged  to  hold  conferences  with  Sir  John  St.  Clair  and 
Colonel  Bouquet,  at  an  intermediate  rendezvous,  to  give 
them  information  respecting  the  frontiers,  and  arrange 
about  the  marching  of  his  troops.  His  constant  word  to 
them  was  forward !  forward  !  For  the  precious  time  fol 


THE  RIFLE  DRESS.  327 

action  was  slipping  away,  and  he  feared  their  Indian 
allies,  so  important  to  their  security  while  on  the  march, 
might,  with  their  usual  fickleness,  lose  patience,  and  re 
turn  home. 

On  arriving  at  Winchester,  he  found  his  troops  rest 
less  and  discontented  from  prolonged  inaction ;  the  in 
habitants  impatient  of  the  burdens  imposed  on  them,  and 
of  the  disturbances  of  an  idle  camp ;  while  the  Indians, 
as  he  apprehended,  had  deserted  outright.  It  was  a  great 
relief,  therefore,  when  he  received  orders  from  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  to  repair  to  Fort  Cumberland.  He  ar 
rived  there  on  the  2d  of  July,  and  proceeded  to  open  a 
road  between  that  post  and  head-quarters,  at  Baystown, 
thirty  miles  distant,  where  Colonel  Bouquet  was  sta 
tioned. 

His  troops  were  scantily  supplied  with  regimental 
clothing.  The  weather  was  oppressively  warm.  He  now 
conceived  the  idea  of  equipping  them  in  the  light  Indian 
hunting  garb,  and  even  of  adopting  it  himself.  Two  com 
panies  were  accordingly  equipped  in  this  style,  and  sent 
under  the  command  of  Major  Lewis  to  head-quarters. 
"  It  is  an  unbecoming  dress,  I  own,  for  an  officer,"  writes 
Washington,  "  but  convenience  rather  than  show,  I  think, 
should  be  consulted.  The  reduction  of  bat-horses  alone 
would  be  sufficient  to  recommend  it ;  for  nothing  is  more 
certain  than  that  less  baggage  would  be  required." 

The  experiment  was  successful.  "The  dress  takes 
very  well  here,"  writes  Colonel  Bouquet ;  "  and,  thank 


328  LIFE  <^7  WASHINGTON. 

God,  we  see  nothing  but  shirts  and  blankets.  .  r  .*;>#, 
Their  dress  should  be  one  pattern  for  this  expedition." 
Such  was  probably  the  origin  of  the  American  rifle  dress, 
afterwards  so  much  worn  in  warfare,  and  modeled  on  the 
Indian  costume. 

The  army  was  now  annoyed  by  scouting  parties  of  In 
dians  hovering  about  the  neighborhood.  Expresses  pass 
ing  between  the  posts  were  fired  upon ;  a  wagoner  was 
shot  down.  "Washington  sent  out  counter-parties  of 
Cherokees.  Colonel  Bouquet  required  that  each  party 
should  be  accompanied  by  an  officer  and  a  number  of 
white  men.  Washington  complied  with  the  order,  though 
he  considered  them  an  encumbrance  rather  than  an  ad 
vantage.  "  Small  parties  of  Indians,"  said  he,  "  will  more 
effectually  harass  the  enemy  by  keeping  them  under  con 
tinual  alarms,  than  any  parties  of  white  men  can  do.  For 
small  parties  of  the  latter  are  not  equal  to  the  task,  not 
being  so  dexterous  at  skulking  as  Indians ;  and  large 
parties  will  be  discovered  by  their  spies  early  enough  to 
have  a  superior  force  opposed  to  them."  "With  all  his 
efforts,  however,  he  was  never  able  fully  to  make  the  offi 
cers  of  the  regular  army  appreciate  the  importance  of 
Indian  allies  in  these  campaigns  in  the  wilderness. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  earnestly  discountenanced  a 
proposition  of  Colonel  Bouquet,  to  make  an  irruption 
into  the  enemy's  country  with  a  strong  party  of  regulars. 
Such  a  detachment,  he  observed,  could  not  be  sent  with 
out  a  cumbersome  train  of  supplies,  which  would  dis- 


WASHINGTON'S  ELECTION.  329 

cover  it  to  the  enemy,  who  must  at  that  time  be  collect 
ing  his  whole  force  at  Fort  Duquesne ;  the  enterprise, 
therefore,  would  be  likely  to  terminate  in  a  miscarriage, 
if  not  in  the  destruction  of  the  party.  We  shall  see  that 
his  opinion  was  oracular. 

As  Washington  intended  to  retire  from  military  life  at 
the  close  of  this  campaign,  he  had  proposed  himself  to 
the  electors  of  Frederick  County  as  their  representative 
in  the  House  of  Burgesses.  The  election  was  coming  OB 
at  Winchester ;  his  friends  pressed  him  to  attend  it,  and 
Colonel  Bouquet  gave  him  leave  of  absence  ;  but  he  de 
clined  to  absent  himself  from  his  post  for  the  promotion 
of  his  political  interests.  There  were  three  competitors 
in  the  field,  yet  so  high  was  the  public  opinion  of  his 
merit,  that,  though  Winchester  had  been  his  head-quar 
ters  for  two  or  three  years  past,  and  he  had  occasionally 
enforced  martial  law  with  a  rigorous  hand,  he  was  elected 
by  a  large  majority.  The  election  was  carried  on  some 
what  in  the  English  style.  There  was  much  eating  and 
drinking  at  the  expense  of  the  candidate.  Washington 
appeared  on  the  hustings  by  proxy,  and  his  representa 
tive  was  chaired  about  the  town  with  enthusiastic  ap 
plause  and  huzzaing  for  Colonel  Washington. 

On  the  21st  of  July  arrived  tidings  of  the  brilliant  suc 
cess  of  that  part  of  the  scheme  of  the  year's  campaign 
conducted  by  General  Amherst  and  Admiral  Boscawen, 
who  had  reduced  the  strong  town  of  Louisburg  and 
gained  possession  of  the  island  of  Cape  Breton.  This  in- 


330  J-1FE  Of>   WASHINGTON. 

telligence  increased  Washington's  impatience  at  the  de 
lays  of  the  expedition  with  which  he  was  connected.  He 
wished  to  rival  these  successes  by  a  brilliant  blow  in  the 
South.  Perhaps  a  desire  for  personal  distinction  in  the 
eyes  of  the  lady  of  his  choice  may  have  been  at  the 
bottom  of  this  impatience  ;  for  we  are  told  that  he  kept 
up  a  constant  correspondence  with  her  throughout  the 
campaign. 

Understanding  that  the  commander-in-chief  had  some 
thoughts  of  throwing  a  body  of  light  troops  in  the  ad 
vance,  he  wrote  to  Colonel  Bouquet,  earnestly  soliciting 
his  influence  to  have  himself  and  his  Virginia  regiment 
included  in  the  detachment.  "  If  any  argument  is  needed 
to  obtain  this  favor,"  said  he,  "  I  hope,  without  vanity,  I 
may  be  allowed  to  say,  that  from  long  intimacy  with 
these  woods,  and  frequent  scouting  in  them,  my  men  are 
at  least  as  well  acquainted  with  all  the  passes  and  diffi 
culties  as  any  troops  that  will  be  employed." 

He  soon  learnt  to  his  surprise,  however,  that  the  road 
to  which  his  men  were  accustomed,  and  which  had  been 
worked  by  Braddock's  troops  in  his  campaign,  was  not 
to  be  taken  in  the  present  expedition,  but  a  new  one 
opened  through  the  heart  of  Pennsylvania,  from  Bays- 
town  to  Fort  Duquesne,  on  the  track  generally  taken  by 
the  northern  traders.  He  instantly  commenced  long  and 
repeated  remonstrances  on  the  subject ;  representing  that 
Braddock's  road,  from  recent  examination,  only  needed 
partial  repairs,  and  showing  by  clear  calculation  that  au 


A  NEW  MILITARY  ROAD.  331 

army  could  reach  Fort  Duquesne  by  that  route  in  thirty- 
four  days,  so  that  the  whole  campaign  might  be  effected 
by  the  middle  of  October;  whereas  the  extreme  labor 
of  opening  a  new  road  across  mountains,  swamps,  and 
through  a  densely  wooded  country,  would  detain  them 
so  late,  that  the  season  would  be  over  before  they  could 
reach  the  scene  of  action.  His  representations  were  of 
no  avail.  The  officers  of  the  regular  service  had  re 
ceived  a  fearful  idea  of  Braddock's  road  from  his  own 
despatches,  wherein  he  had  described  it  as  lying  "  across 
mountains  and  rocks  of  an  excessive  height,  vastly  steep, 
and  divided  by  torrents  and  rivers,"  whereas  the  Penn 
sylvania  traders,  who  were  anxious  for  the  opening  of 
the  new  road  through  their  province,  described  the  coun^ 
try  through  which  it  would  pass  as  less  difficult,  and  its 
streams  less  subject  to  inundation;  above  all,  it  was  a 
direct  line,  and  fifty  miles  nearer.  This  route,  therefore, 
to  the  great  regret  of  Washington  and  the  indignation  of 
the  Virginia  Assembly,  was  definitely  adopted,  and  six 
teen  hundred  men  were  immediately  thrown  in  the  ad 
vance  from  Eaystown  to  work  upon  it. 

The  first  of  September  found  Washington  still  en- 
camped  at  Fort  Cumberland,  his  troops  sickly  and  dis 
pirited,  and  the  brilliant  expedition  which  he  had  antici 
pated  dwindling  down  into  a  tedious  operation  of  road- 
making.  In  the  mean  time,  his  scouts  brought  him 
word  that  the  whole  force  at  Fort  Duquesne  on  the  13th 
of  August,  Indians  included,  did  not  exceed  eight  hun- 


332  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

dred  men :  had  an  early  campaign  been  pressed  forward, 
as  he  recommended,  the  place  by  this  time  would  have 
been  captured.  At  length,  in  the  month  of  September, 
he  received  orders  from  General  Forbes  to  join  him  with 
his  troops  at  Raystown,  where  he  had  just  arrived,  hav 
ing  been  detained  by  severe  illness.  He  was  received 
by  the  general  with  the  highest  marks  of  respect.  On 
all  occasions,  both  in  private  and  at  councils  of  war, 
that  commander  treated  his  opinions  with  the  greatest 
deference.  He,  moreover,  adopted  a  plan  drawn  out  by 
Washington  for  the  march  of  the  army;  and  an  order 
of  battle  which  still  exists,  furnishing  a  proof  of  his 
skill  in  frontier  warfare. 

It  was  now  the  middle  of  September;  yet  the  great 
body  of  men  engaged  in  opening  the  new  military  road, 
after  incredible  toil,  had  not  advanced  above  forty-five 
miles,  to  a  place  called  Loyal  Hannan,  a  little  beyond 
Laurel  Hill.  Colonel  Bouquet,  who  commanded  the  div 
ision  of  nearly  two  thousand  men  sent  forward  to  open 
this  road,  had  halted  at  Loyal  Hannan  to  establish  a 
military  post  and  deposit. 

He  was  upwards  of  fifty  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne, 
and  was  tempted  to  adopt  the  measure,  so  strongly  dis 
countenanced  by  Washington,  of  sending  a  party  on  a 
foray  into  the  enemy's  country.  He  accordingly  de 
tached  Major  Grant  with  eight  hundred  picked  men, 
some  of  them  Highlanders,  others,  in  Indian  garb,  the 
part  of  Washington's  Virginian  regiment  sent  forward 


GRANT'S  FOOLHARDINES8.  333 

by  him    from    Cumberland  under   command   of   Major 
Lewis. 

The  instructions  given  to  Major  Grant  were  merely  to 
reconnoiter  the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  and  ascertain  the  strength  and  position  of  the 
enemy.  He  conducted  the  enterprise  with  the  foolhardi- 
ness  of  a  man  eager  for  personal  notoriety.  His  whole 
object  seems  to  have  been  by  open  bravado  to  provoke 
an  action.  The  enemy  were  apprised,  through  their 
scouts,  of  his  approach,  but  suffered  him  to  advance 
unmolested.  Arriving  at  night  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  fort,  he  posted  his  men  on  a  hill,  and  sent  out  a  party 
of  observation,  who  set  fire  to  a  log  house  near  the  walls 
and  returned  to  the  encampment.  As  if  this  were  not 
sufficient  to  put  the  enemy  on  the  alert,  he  ordered  the 
reveille  to  be  beaten  in  the  morning  in  several  places ; 
then,  posting  Major  Lewis  with  his  provincial  troops  at 
a  distance  in  the  rear  to  protect  the  baggage,  he  mar 
shaled  his  regulars  in  battle  array,  and  sent  an  engineer, 
with  a  covering  party,  to  take  a  plan  of  the  works  in  full 
view  of  the  garrison. 

Not  a  gun  was  fired  by  the  fort ;  the  silence  which  was 
maintained  was  mistaken  for  fear,  and  increased  the 
arrogance  and  blind  security  of  the  British  commander. 
At  length,  when  he  was  thrown  off  his  guard,  there  was 
a  sudden  sally  of  the  garrison,  and  an  attack  on  the 
flanks  by  Indians  hid  in  ambush.  A  scene  now  occurred 
similar  to  that  at  the  defeat  of  Braddock.  The  British 


334  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

officers  marshaled  their  men  according  to  European  tac« 
tics,  and  the  Highlanders  for  some  time  stood  their 
ground  bravely ;  but  the  destructive  fire  and  horrid  yells 
of  the  Indians  soon  produced  panic  and  confusion. 
Major  Lewis,  at  the  first  noise  of  the  attack,  left  Captain 
Bullitt,  with  fifty  Virginians,  to  guard  the  baggage,  and 
hastened  with  the  main  part  of  his  men  to  the  scene  of 
action.  The  contest  was  kept  up  for  some  time,  but  the 
confusion  was  irretrievable.  The  Indians  sallied  from 
their  concealment,  and  attacked  with  the  tomahawk  and 
scalping-knife.  Lewis  fought  hand  to  hand  with  an 
Indian  brave,  whom  he  laid  dead  at  his  feet,  but  was 
surrounded  by  others,  and  only  saved  his  life  by  sur 
rendering  himself  to  a  French  officer.  Major  Grant  sur 
rendered  himself  in  like  manner.  The  whole  detach 
ment  was  put  to  the  rout  with  dreadful  carnage. 

(3aptain  Bullitt  rallied  several  of  the  fugitives,  and 
prepared  to  make  a  forlorn  stand,  as  the  only  chance 
where  the  enemy  was  overwhelming  and  merciless.  De 
spatching  the  most  valuable  baggage  with  the  strongest 
horses,  he  made  a  barricade  with  the  baggage  wagons, 
behind  which  he  posted  his  men,  giving  them  orders  how 
they  were  to  act.  All  this  was  the  thought  and  the  work 
almost  of  a  moment,  for  the  savages,  having  finished  the 
havoc  and  plunder  of  the  field  of  battle,  were  hastening 
in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  Bullitt  suffered  them  to  come 
near,  when,  on  a  concerted  signal,  a  destructive  fire  was 
opened  from  behind  the  baggage  wagons.  They  were 


BULLITT '8  DEVICE.  335 

checked  for  a  time ;  but  were  again  pressing  forward  in 
greater  numbers,  when  Bullitt  and  his  men  held  out  the 
signal  of  capitulation,  and  advanced  as  if  to  surrender. 
When  within  eight  yards  of  the  enemy,  they  suddenly 
leveled  their  arms,  poured  a  most  effective  volley,  and 
then  charged  with  the  bayonet.  The  Indians  fled  in  dis 
may,  and  Bullitt  took  advantage  of  this  check  to  retreat 
with  all  speed,  collecting  the  wounded  and  the  scattered 
fugitives  as  he  advanced.  The  routed  detachment  came 
back  in  fragments  to  Colonel  Bouquet's  camp  at  Loyal 
Hannan,  with  the  loss  of  twenty-one  officers  and  two  hun 
dred  and  seventy-three  privates  killed  and  taken.  The 
Highlanders  and  the  Virginians  were  those  that  fought 
the  best  and  suffered  the  most  in  this  bloody  battle. 
Washington's  regiment  lost  six  officers  and  sixty-two 
privates. 

If  Washington  could  have  taken  any  pride  in  seeing 
his  presages  of  misfortune  verified,  he  might  have  been 
gratified  by  the  result  of  this  rash  "  irruption  into  the 
enemy's  country,"  which  was  exactly  what  he  had  pre 
dicted.  In  his  letters  to  Governor  Fauquier,  however,  he 
bears  lightly  on  the  error  of  Col.  Bouquet.  "From  all 
accounts  I  can  collect,"  says  he,  "  it  appears  very  clear 
that  this  was  a  very  ill-concerted,  or  a  very  ill-executed 
plan,  perhaps  both ;  but  it  seems  to  be  generally  ac 
knowledged  that  Major  Grant  exceeded  his  orders,  and 
that  no  disposition  was  made  for  engaging." 

Washington,  who  was  at  Baystown  when  the  disastrous 


336  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON'. 

news  arrived,  was  publicly  complimented  by  General 
Forbes,  on  the  gallant  conduct  of  his  Yirginian  troops,  and 
Bullitt's  behavior  was  "a  matter  of  great  admiration." 
The  latter  was  soon  after  rewarded  with  a  major's  com 
mission. 

.  As  a  further  mark  of  the  high  opinion  now  entertained 
of  provincial  troops  for  frontier  service,  Washington  was 
given  the  command  of  a  division,  partly  composed  of  his 
own  men,  to  keep  in  the  advance  of  the  main  body,  clear 
the  roads,  throw  out  scouting  parties,  and  repel  Indian 
attacks. 

It  was  the  5th  of  November  before  the  whole  army 
assembled  at  Loyal  Hannan.  Winter  was  now  at  hand, 
and  upwards  of  fifty  miles  of  wilderness  were  yet  to  be 
traversed,  by  a  road  not  yet  formed,  before  they  could 
reach  Fort  Duquesne.  Again,  Washington's  predictions 
seemed  likely  to  be  verified,  and  the  expedition  to  be 
defeated  by  delay ;  for  in  a  council  of  war  it  was  deter 
mined  to  be  impracticable  to  advance  further  with  the 
army  that  season.  Three  prisoners,  however,  who  were 
brought  in,  gave  such  an  account  of  the  weak  state  of  the 
garrison  at  Fort  Duquesne,  its  want  of  provisions,  and 
the  defection  of  the  Indians,  that  it  was  determined  to 
push  forward.  The  march  was  accordingly  resumed,  but 
without  tents  or  baggage,  and  with  only  a  light  train  of 
artillery. 

Washington  still  kept  the  advance.  After  leaving 
Loyal  Hannan,  the  road  presented  traces  of  the  late  de- 


FALL  OF  FORT  DUqUESXE.  337 

feat  of  Grant ;  being  strewed  with  human  bones,  the  sad 
relics  of  fugitives  cut  down  by  the  Indians,  or  of  wounded 
soldiers  who  had  died  on  the  retreat ;  they  lay  moulder 
ing  in  various  stages  of  decay,  mingled  with  the  bones 
of  horses  and  of  oxen.  As  they  approached  Fort  Du- 
quesne  these  mementos  of  former  disasters  became 
more  frequent ;  and  the  bones  of  those  massacred  in  the 
defeat  of  Braddock,  still  lay  scattered  about  the  battle 
field,  whitening  in  the  sun. 

At  length  the  army  arrived  in  sight  of  Fort  Duquesne, 
advancing  with  great  precaution,  and  expecting  a  vigor 
ous  defense ;  but  that  formidable  fortress,  the  terror  and 
scourge  of  the  frontier,  and  the  object  of  such  warlike 
enterprise,  fell  without  a  blow.  The  recent  successes  oi 
the  English  forces  in  Canada,  particularly  the  capture 
and  destruction  of  Fort  Frontenac,  had  left  the  garrison 
without  hope  of  reinforcements  and  supplies.  The  whole 
force,  at  the  time,  did  not  exceed  five  hundred  men,  and 
the  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted.  The  commander, 
therefore,  waited  only  until  the  English  army  was  within 
one  day's  march,  when  he  embarked  his  troops  at  night 
in  bateaux,  blew  up  his  magazines,  set  fire  to  the  fort, 
and  retreated  down  the  Ohio,  by  the  light  of  the  flames. 
On  the  25th  of  November,  Washington,  with  the  advanced 
guard,  marched  in,  and  planted  the  British  flag  on  the 
yet  smoking  ruins. 

One  of  the  first  offices  of  the  army  was  to  collect  and 
bury,  in  one  common  tomb,  the  bones  of  their  fellow- 
VOL.  I.— 22 


338  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  the  battles  of  Braddock  and 
Grant.  In  this  pious  duty  it  is  said  every  one  joined, 
from  the  general  down  to  the  private  soldier ;  and  some 
veterans  assisted,  with  heavy  hearts  and  frequent  ejacu 
lations  of  poignant  feeling,  who  had  been  present  in  the 
scenes  of  defeat  and  carnage. 

The  ruins  of  the  fortress  were  now  put  in  a  defensible 
state,  and  garrisoned  by  two  hundred  men  from  Wash 
ington's  regiment ;  the  name  was  changed  to  that  of  Fort 
Pitt,  in  honor  of  the  illustrious  British  minister,  whose 
measures  had  given  vigor  and  effect  to  this  year's  cam 
paign;  it  has  since  been  modified  into  Pittsburg,  and 
designates  one  of  the  most  busy  and  populous  cities  of 
the  interior. 

The  reduction  of  Fort  Duquesne  terminated,  as  Wash 
ington  had  foreseen,  the  troubles  and  dangers  of  the 
southern  frontier.  The  French  domination  of  the  Ohio 
was  at  an  end ;  the  Indians,  as  usual,  paid  homage  to 
the  conquering  power,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  was  con 
cluded  with  all  the  tribes  between  the  Ohio  and  the 
lakes. 

With  this  campaign  ended,  for  the  present,  the  military 
career  of  Washington.  His  great  object  was  attained,  the 
restoration  of  quiet  and  security  to  his  native  province ; 
and,  having  abandoned  all  hope  of  attaining  rank  in  the 
regular  army,  and  his  health  being  much  impaired,  he 
gave  up  his  commission  at  the  close  of  the  year,  and 
retired  from  the  service,  followed  by  the  applause  of  his 


MARRIAGE   WITH  MRS.  CUSTIS.  339 

fellow-soldiers,  and  the  gratitude  and  admiration  of  all 
his  countrymen. 

His  marriage  with  Mrs.  Custis  took  place  shortly  after 
his  return.  It  was  celebrated  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1759,  at  the  White  House,  the  residence  of  the  bride,  in 
the  good  old  hospitable  style  of  Virginia,  amid  a  joyous 
assemblage  of  relatives  and  friends. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS  FOR  1759.— INVESTMENT  OF  FORT  NIAGARA.— DEATH 
OF  PRIDEAUX.— SUCCESS  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON.— AMHERST  AT  TICON- 
DEROQA.— WOLFE  AT  QUEBEC.— HIS  TRIUMPH  AND  DEATH.— FATE  OF  MONT- 
CALM. — CAPITULATION  OF  QUEBEC. — ATTEMPT  OF  DE  LEVI  TO  RETAKE  IT. — 
AKRIVAL  OF  A  BRITISH  FLEET. — LAST  STAND  OF  THE  FRENCH  AT  MONT 
REAL. — SURRENDBR  OF  CANADA. 

JEFOEE  following  Washington  into  the  retire 
ment  of  domestic  life,  we  think  it  proper  to 
notice  the  events  which  closed  the  great  strug 
gle  between  England  and  France  for  empire  in  America. 
In  that  struggle  he  had  first  become  practiced  in  arms, 
and  schooled  in  the  ways  of  the  world;  and  its  results 
will  be  found  connected  with  the  history  of  his  later 
years. 

General  Abercrombie  had  been  superseded  as  comman- 
der-in-chief  of  the  forces  in  America  by  Major-general 
Amherst,  who  had  gained  great  favor  by  the  reduction  of 
Louisburg.  According  to  the  plan  of  operations  for  1759, 
General  Wolfe,  who  had  risen  to  fame  by  his  gallant  con 
duct  in  the  same  affair,  was  to  ascend  the  St.  Lawrence 
in  a  fleet  of  ships  of  war,  with  eight  thousand  men,  as 
soon  as  the  river  should  be  free  of  ice,  and  lay  siege  to 

340 


INVESTMENT  OF  FORT  NIAGARA.  341 

Quebec,  the  capital  of  Canada.  General  Amherst,  in  the 
meantime,  was  to  advance,  as  Abercrombie  had  done,  by 
Lake  George,  against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  re 
duce  those  forts,  cross  Lake  Champlain,  push  on  to  the 
St.  Lawrence,  and  cooperate  with  Wolfe. 

A  third  expedition,  under  Brigadier-general  Prideaux, 
aided  by  Sir  William  Johnson  and  his  Indian  warriors, 
was  to  attack  Fort  Niagara,  which  controlled  the  whole 
country  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  commanded  the  naviga 
tion  of  the  great  lakes,  and  the  intercourse  between 
Canada  and  Louisiana.  Having  reduced  this  fort,  he  was 
to  traverse  Lake  Ontario,  descend  the  St.  Lawrence, 
capture  Montreal,  and  join  his  forces  with  those  of 
Amherst. 

The  last-mentioned  expedition  was  the  first  executed. 
General  Prideaux  embarked  at  Oswego  on  the  first  of 
July,  with  a  large  body  of  troops,  regulars  and  provin 
cials — the  latter  partly  from  New  York.  He  was  accom 
panied  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  his  Indian  braves 
of  the  Mohawk.  Landing  at  an  inlet  of  Lake  Ontario, 
within  a  few  miles  of  Fort  Niagara,  he  advanced,  without 
being  opposed,  and  proceeded  to  invest  it.  The  garrison, 
six  hundred  strong,  made  a  resolute  defense.  The  siege 
was  carried  on  by  regular  approaches,  but  pressed  with 
vigor.  On  the  20th  of  July,  Prideaux,  in  visiting  his 
trenches,  was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  cohorn.  In 
formed  by  express  of  this  misfortune,  General  Amherst 
detached  from  the  main  army  Brigadier-general  Gage, 


342  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  officer  who  had  led  Braddock's  advance,  to  take  the 
command. 

In  the  meantime,  the  siege  had  been  conducted  by  Sir 
William  Johnson  with  courage  and  sagacity.  He  was 
destitute  of  military  science,  but  had  a  natural  aptness 
for  warfare,  especially  for  the  rough  kind  carried  on  in 
the  wilderness.  Being  informed  by  his  scouts  that 
twelve  hundred  regular  troops,  drawn  from  Detroit, 
Venango,  and  Presque  Isle,  and  led  by  D'Aubry,  with  a 
number  of  Indian  auxiliaries,  were  hastening  to  the  res 
cue,  he  detached  a  force  of  grenadiers  and  light  infantry, 
with  some  of  his  Mohawk  warriors,  to  intercept  them. 
They  came  in  sight  of  each  other  on  the  road,  between 
Niagara  Falls  and  the  fort,  within  the  thundering  sound 
of  the  one,  and  the  distant  view  of  the  other.  Johnson's 
"  braves  "  advanced  to  have  a  parley  with  the  hostile  red 
skins.  The  latter  received  them  with  a  war-whoop,  and 
Frenchman  and  savage  made  an  impetuous  onset.  John 
son's  regulars  and  provincials  stood  their  ground  firmly, 
while  his  red  warriors  fell  on  the  flanks  of  the  enemy. 
After  a  sharp  conflict,  the  French  were  broken,  routed, 
and  pursued  through  the  woods,  with  great  carnage. 
Among  the  prisoners  taken  were  seventeen  officers.  The 
next  day  Sir  William  Johnson  sent  a  trumpet,  summon 
ing  the  garrison  to  surrender,  to  spare  the  effusion  of 
blood,  and  prevent  outrages  by  the  Indians.  They  had 
no  alternative  ;  were  permitted  to  march  out  with  the 
honors  of  war,  and  were  protected  by  Sir  William  from 


AMHERST  AT  TICONDEROGA.  343 

ftis  Indian  allies.  Thus  was  secured  the  key  to  the  com 
munication  between  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  and  to  the 
vast  interior  region  connected  with  them.  The  blow 
alarmed  the  French  for  the  safety  of  Montreal,  and  De 
Levi,  the  second  in  command  of  their  Canadian  forces, 
hastened  up  from  before  Quebec,  and  took  post  at  the 
fort  of  Oswegatchie  (now  Ogdensburg),  to  defend  the 
passes  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

We  now  proceed  to  notice  the  expedition  against  Ti- 
conderoga  and  Crown  Point.  In  the  month  of  July, 
General  Amherst  embarked  with  nearly  twelve  thousand 
men,  at  the  upper  part  of  Lake  George,  and  proceeded 
down  it,  as  Abercrombie  had  done  in  the  preceding  year, 
in  a  vast  fleet  of  whale-boats,  bateaux,  and  rafts,  and  all 
the  glitter  and  parade  of  war.  On  the  22d,  the  army  de 
barked  at  the  lower  part  of  the  lake,  and  advanced  toward 
Ticonderoga.  After  a  slight  skirmish  with  the  advanced 
guard,  they  secured  the  old  post  at  the  saw-mill. 

Montcalm  was  no  longer  in  the  fort ;  he  was  absent  for 
the  protection  of  Quebec.  The  garrison  did  not  exceed 
four  hundred  men.  Bourlamarque,  a  brave  officer,  who 
commanded,  at  first  seemed  disposed  to  make  defense ; 
but,  against  such  overwhelming  force,  it  would  have  been 
madness.  Dismantling  the  fortifications,  therefore,  he 
abandoned  them,  as  he  did  likewise  those  at  Crown 
Point,  and  retreated  down  the  lake,  to  assemble  forces, 
and  make  a  stand  at  the  Isle  Aux  Noix,  for  the  protection 
of  Montreal  and  the  province. 


344:  LIFE  OP  WASHINGTON. 

Instead  of  following  him  up,  and  hastening  to  cooper 
ate  with  Wolfe,  General  Amherst  proceeded  to  repair  the 
works  at  Ticonderoga,  and  erect  a  new  fort  at  Crown 
Point,  though  neither  were  in  present  danger  of  being 
attacked,  nor  would  be  of  use  if  Canada  were  conquered. 
Amherst,  however,  was  one  of  those  cautious  men,  who, 
in  seeking  to  be  sure,  are  apt  to  be  fatally  slow.  His 
delay  enabled  the  enemy  to  rally  their  forces  at  Isle  Aux 
Noix,  and  call  in  Canadian  reinforcements,  while  it  de 
prived  Wolfe  of  that  cooperation  which,  it  will  be  shown, 
was  most  essential  to  the  general  success  of  the  campaign. 

Wolfe,  with  his  eight  thousand  men,  ascended  the  St. 
Lawrence  in  the  fleet,  in  the  month  of  June.  With  him 
came  Brigadiers  Monckton,  Townshend,  and  Murray, 
youthful  and  brave  like  himself,  and,  like  himself,  already 
schooled  in  arms.  Monckton,  it  will  be  recollected,  had 
signalized  himself,  when  a  colonel,  in  the  expedition  in 
1755,  in  which  the  French  were  driven  from  Nova  Scotia. 
The  grenadiers  of  the  army  were  commanded  by  Colonel 
Guy  Carleton,  and  part  of  the  light  infantry  by  Lieuten 
ant-colonel  William  Howe,  both  destined  to  celebrity  in 
after  years,  in  the  annals  of  the  American  Revolution. 
Colonel  Howe  was  brother  of  the  gallant  Lord  Howe, 
whose  fall  in  the  preceding  year  was  so  generally  la 
mented.  Among  the  officers  of  the  fleet,  was  Jervis,  the 
future  admiral,  and  ultimately  Earl  St.  Vincent,  and  the 
master  of  one  of  the  ships  was  James  Cook,  afterwards 
renowned  as  a  discoverer. 


WOLFE  BEFORE  QUEBEC.  345 

About  the  end  of  June,  the  troops  debarked  on  the 
large,  populous,  and  well-cultivated  Isle  of  Orleans,  a 
little  below  Quebec,  and  encamped  in  its  fertile  fields. 
Quebec,  the  citadel  of  Canada,  was  strong  by  nature.  It 
was  built  round  the  point  of  a  rocky  promontory,  and 
flanked  by  precipices.  The  crystal  current  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  swept  by  it  on  the  right,  and  the  river  St. 
Charles  flowed  along  on  the  left,  before  mingling  with 
that  mighty  stream.  The  place  was  tolerably  fortified, 
but  art  had  not  yet  rendered  it,  as  at  the  present  day, 
impregnable. 

Montcalm  commanded  the  post.  His  troops  were 
more  numerous  than  the  assailants ;  but  the  greater  part 
were  Canadians,  many  of  them  inhabitants  of  Quebec ; 
and  he  had  a  host  of  savages.  His  forces  were  drawn 
out  along  the  northern  shore  below  the  city,  from  the 
river  St.  Charles  to  the  Falls  of  Montmorency,  and  their 
position  was  secured  by  deep  intrenchments. 

The  night  after  the  debarkation  of  Wolfe's  troops  a 
furious  storm  caused  great  damage  to  the  transports,  and 
sank  some  of  the  small  craft.  While  it  was  still  raging, 
a  number  of  fire-ships,  sent  to  destroy  the  fleet,  came 
driving  down.  They  were  boarded  intrepidly  by  the 
British  seamen,  and  towed  out  of  the  way  of  doing  harm. 
A-fter  much  resistance,  Wolfe  established  batteries  at  the 
West  point  of  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  and  at  Point  Levi, 
on  the  right  (or  south)  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  within 
cannon  range  of  the  city — Colonel  Guy  Carleton,  com- 


346  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

mander  at  the  former  battery;  Brigadier  Monckton  at 
the  latter.  From  Point  Levi  bombshells  and  red-hot 
shot  were  discharged ;  many  houses  were  set  on  fire  in 
the  upper  town,  the  lower  town  was  reduced  to  rubbish ; 
the  main  fort,  however,  remained  unharmed. 

Anxious  for  a  decisive  action,  Wolfe,  on  the  9th  of  July, 
crossed  over  in  boats  from  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  to  the 
north  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  encamped  below  the 
Montmorency.  It  was  an  ill-judged  position,  for  there 
was  still  that  tumultuous  stream,  with  its  rocky  banks, 
between  him  and  the  camp  of  Montcalm ;  but  the  ground 
he  had  chosen  was  higher  than  that  occupied  by  the  lat 
ter,  and  the  Montmorency  had  a  ford  below  the  falls, 
passable  at  low  tide.  Another  ford  was  discovered,  three 
miles  within  land,  but  the  banks  were  steep,  and  shag 
ged  with  forest.  At  both  fords  the  vigilant  Montcalm 
had  thrown  up  breastworks,  and  posted  troops. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  Wolfe  made  a  reconnoitering  ex 
pedition  up  the  river,  with  two  armed  sloops,  and  two 
transports  with  troops.  He  passed  Quebec  unharmed, 
and  carefully  noted  the  shores  above  it.  Hugged  cliffs 
rose  almost  from  the  water's  edge.  Above  them,  he  was 
told,  was  an  extent  of  level  ground,  called  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  by  which  the  upper  town  might  be  approached 
on  its  weakest  side ;  but  how  was  that  pl.iin  to  be  at 
tained,  when  the  cliffs,  for  the  most  part,  were  inacces 
sible,  and  every  practicable  place  fortified  ? 

He  returned  to  Montmorency  disappointed,  and  re- 


WOLFE  REPULSED.  347 

solved  to  attack  Montcalm  in  his  camp,  however  difficult 
to  be  approached,  and  however  strongly  posted.  Towns- 
hend  and  Murray,  with  their  brigades,  were  to  cross  the 
Montmorency  at  low  tide,  below  the  falls,  and  storm  the 
redoubt  thrown  up  in  front  of  the  ford.  Monckton,  at 
the  same  time,  was  to  cross  with  part  of  his  brigade,  in 
boats  from  Point  Levi.  The  ship  Centurion,  stationed 
in  the  channel,  was  to  check  the  fire  of  a  battery  which 
commanded  the  ford ;  a  train  of  artillery,  planted  on  an 
eminence,  was  to  enfilade  the  enemy's  intrenchments ; 
and  two  armed,  flat-bottomed  boats,  were  to  be  run  on 
shore,  near  the  redoubt,  and  favor  the  crossing  of  the 
troops. 

As  usual,  in  complicated  orders,  part  were  misunder 
stood  or  neglected,  and  confusion  was  the  consequence. 
Many  of  the  boats  from  Point  Levi  ran  aground  on  a 
shallow  in  the  river,  where  they  were  exposed  to  a 
severe  fire  of  shot  and  shells.  Wolfe,  who  was  on  the 
shore,  directing  everything,  endeavored  to  stop  his  im 
patient  troops  until  the  boats  could  be  got  afloat,  and  the 
men  landed.  Thirteen  companies  of  grenadiers  and  two 
hundred  provincials  were  the  first  to  land.  Without 
waiting  for  Brigadier  Monckton  and  his  regiments ; 
without  waiting  for  the  cooperation  of  the  troops  under 
Townshend ;  without  waiting  even  to  be  drawn  up  in  form, 
the  grenadiers  rushed  impetuously  towards  the  enemy's 
intrenchments.  A  sheeted  fire  mowed  them  down,  and 
drove  them  to  take  shelter  behind  the  redoubt,  near  the 


34:8  -LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ford,  which  the  enemy  had  abandoned.  Here  they  re 
mained,  unable  to  form  under  the  galling  fire  to  which 
they  were  exposed,  whenever  they  ventured  from  their 
covert.  Monckton's  brigade  at  length  was  landed,  drawn 
up  in  order,  and  advanced  to  their  relief,  driving  back 
the  enemy.  Thus  protected,  the  grenadiers  retreated  as 
precipitately  as  they  had  advanced,  leaving  many  of  their 
comrades  wounded  on  the  field,  who  were  massacred  and 
scalped  in  their  sight  by  the  savages.  The  delay  thus 
caused  was  fatal  to  the  enterprise.  The  day  was  ad 
vanced  ;  the  weather  became  stormy ;  the  tide  began  to 
make ;  at  a  later  hour,  retreat,  in  case  of  a  second  re 
pulse,  would  be  impossible.  Wolfe,  therefore,  gave  up 
the  attack,  and  withdrew  across  the  river,  having  lost 
upwards  of  four  hundred  men,  through  this  headlong 
impetuosity  of  the  grenadiers.  The  two  vessels  which 
had  been  run  aground,  were  set  on  fire,  lest  they  should 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.* 

Brigadier  Murray  was  now  detached  with  twelve  hun 
dred  men,  in  transports,  to  ascend  above  the  town,  and 
cooperate  with  Bear  Admiral  Holmes,  in  destroying  the 
enemy's  shipping,  and  making  descents  upon  the  north 
shore.  The  shipping  were  safe  from  attack;  some 
stores  and  ammunition  were  destroyed,  some  prisoners 
taken,  and  Murray  returned  with  the  news  of  the  cap 
ture  of  Fort  Niagara,  Ticonderoga,  and  Crown  Pointj 

*  Wolfe's  Letter  to  Pitt,  Sept.  2d,  1759. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  A   SECOND  ATTACK.         349 

and  that  Amherst  was  preparing  to  attack  the  Isle  Aux 
Noix. 

Wolfe,  of  a  delicate  constitution  and  sensitive  nature, 
had  been  deeply  mortified  by  the  severe  check  sustained 
at  the  Falls  of  Montmorency,  fancying  himself  disgraced ; 
and  these  successes  of  his  fellow-commanders  in  other 
parts  increased  his  self-upbraiding.  The  difficulties  mul 
tiplying  around  him,  and  the  delay  of  General  Amherst 
in  hastening  to  his  aid,  preyed  incessantly  on  his  spirits ; 
he  was  dejected  even  to  despondency,  and  declared  he 
would  never  return  without  success,  to  be  exposed,  like 
other  unfortunate  commanders,  to  the  sneers  and  re 
proaches  of  the  populace.  The  agitation  of  his  mind, 
and  his  acute  sensibility,  brought  on  a  fever,  which  for 
some  time  incapacitated  him  from  taking  the  field. 

In  the  midst  of  his  illness  he  called  a  council  of  war, 
in  which  the  whole  plan  of  operations  was  altered.  It 
was  determined  to  convey  troops  above  the  town,  and 
endeavor  to  make  a  diversion  in  that  direction,  or  draw 
Montcalm  into  the  open  field.  Before  carrying  this  plan 
into  effect,  Wolfe  again  reconnoitered  the  town  in  com 
pany  with  Admiral  Saunders,  but  nothing  better  sug 
gested  itself. 

The  brief  Canadian  summer  was  over ;  they  were  in  the 
month  of  September.  The  camp  at  Montmorency  was 
broken  up.  The  troops  were  transported  to  Point  Levi, 
leaving  a  sufficient  number  to  man  the  batteries  on.  the 
Isle  of  Orleans.  On  the  fifth  and  sixth  of  September  the 


350  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

embarkation  took  place  above  Point  Levi,  in  transports 
which  had  been  sent  up  for  the  purpose.  Montcalin 
detached  De  Bougainville  with  fifteen  hundred  men  to 
keep  along  the  north  shore  above  the  town,  watch  the 
movements  of  the  squadron,  and  prevent  a  landing.  To 
deceive  him,  Admiral  Holmes  moved  with  the  ships  of 
war  three  leagues  beyond  the  place  where  the  landing 
was  to  be  attempted.  He  was  to  drop  down,  however,  in 
the  night,  and  protect  the  landing.  Cook,  the  future  dis 
coverer,  also,  was  employed  with  others  to  sound  the 
river  and  place  buoys  opposite  the  camp  of  Montcalm,  as 
if  an  attack  were  meditated  in  that  quarter. 

Wolfe  was  still  suffering  under  the  effects  of  his  late 
fever.  "My  constitution,"  writes  he  to  a  friend,  "is  en 
tirely  ruined,  without  the  consolation  of  having  done  any 
considerable  service  to  the  state,  and  without  any  pros 
pect  of  it."  Still  he  was  unremitting  in  his  exertions, 
seeking  to  wipe  out  the  fancied  disgrace  incurred  at  the 
Falls  of  Montmorency.  It  was  in  this  mood  he  is  said  to 
have  composed  and  sung  at  his  evening  mess  that  little 
campaigning  song  still  linked  with  his  name : 

"Why,  soldiers,  why 
Should  we  be  melancholy,  boys  ? 
Why,  soldiers,  why  ? 
Whose  business  'tis  to  die." 

Even  when  embarked  in  his  midnight  enterprise,  the 
presentiment  of  death  seems  to  have  cast  its  shadow  over 


LANDING   OF  THE   TROOPS.  351 

him.  A  midshipman,  who  was  present,*  used  to  relate 
that,  as  Wolfe  sat  among  his  officers,  and  the  boats  floated 
down  silently  with  the  current,  he  recited,  in  low  and 
touching  tones,  Gray's  Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard, 
then  just  published.  One  stanza  may  especially  have 
accorded  with  his  melancholy  mood  : 

"The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave 
Await  alike  the  inevitable  hour, 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 

"Now,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  when  he  had  finished, 
"  I  would  rather  be  the  author  of  that  poem  than  take 
Quebec.1* 

The  descent  was  made  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  past 
midnight,  on  the  13th  of  September.  They  dropped 
down  silently  with  the  swift  current.  " Qui  va  la  ?"  (who 
goes  there?)  cried  a  sentinel  from  the  shore.  "La 
France"  replied  a  captain  in  the  first  boat,  who  under 
stood  the  French  language.  "  A  quel  regiment  ?  "  was  the 
demand.  "  De  la  Reine  "  (the  queen's),  replied  the  cap 
tain,  knowing  that  regiment  was  in  De  Bougainville's 
detachment.  Fortunately,  a  convoy  of  provisions  was 
sxpected  down  from  De  Bougainville,  which  the  sentinel 
supposed  this  to  be.  "Passe,"  cried  he,  and  the  boats 
glided  on  without  further  challenge.  The  landing  took 

*  Afterwards  Professor  John  Robinson  of  Edinburgh. 


352  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

place  in  a  cove  near  Cape  Diamond,  which  still  bears 
Wolfe's  name.  He  had  marked  it  in  reconnoitering,  and 
saw  that  a  cragged  path  straggled  up  from  it  to  the 
Heights  of  Abraham,  which  might  be  climbed,  though 
with  difficulty,  and  that  it  appeared  to  be  slightly 
guarded  at  top.  Wolfe  was  among  the  first  that  landed 
and  ascended  up  the  steep  and  narrow  path,  where  not 
more  than  two  could  go  abreast,  and  which  had  been 
broken  up  by  cross  ditches.  Colonel  Howe,  at  the  same 
time,  with  the  light  infantry  and  Highlanders,  scrambled 
up  the  woody  precipices,  helping  themselves  by  the 
roots  and  branches,  and  putting  to  flight  a  sergeant's 
guard  posted  at  the  summit.  Wolfe  drew  up  the  men 
in  order  as  they  mounted;  and  by  the  break  of  day 
found  himself  in  possession  of  the  fateful  Plains  of  Abra 
ham. 

Montcalm  was  thunderstruck  when  word  was  brought 
to  him  in  his  camp  that  the  English  were  on  the  heights, 
threatening  the  weakest  part  of  the  town.  Abandoning 
his  intrenchments,  he  hastened  across  the  river  St. 
Charles  and  ascended  the  heights  which  slope  up  gradu 
ally  from  its  banks.  His  force  was  equal  in  number  to 
that  of  the  English,  but  a  great  part  was  made  up  of 
colony  troops  and  savages.  When  he  saw  the  formida 
ble  host  of  regulars  he  had  to  contend  with,  he  sent  off 
swift  messengers  to  summon  De  Bougainville  with  his 
detachment  to  his  aid;  and  De  Vaudreuil  to  reinforce 
him  with  fifteen  hundred  men  from  the  camp.  In  the 


DEATH  OF  WOLFE.  353 

meantime  he  prepared  to  flank  the  left  of  the  English  line 
and  force  them  to  the  opposite  precipices.  Wolfe  saw  his 
aim,  and  sent  Brigadier  Townshend  to  counteract  him 
with  a  regiment  which  was  formed  enpotence,  and  sup 
ported  by  two  battalions,  presenting  on  the  left  a  double 
front. 

The  French,  in  their  haste,  thinking  they  were  to  repel 
a-  mere  scouting  party,  had  brought  but  three  light  field- 
pieces  with  them;  the  English  had  but  a  single  gun, 
which  the  sailors  had  dragged  up  the  heights.  With 
these  they  cannonaded  each  other  for  a  time,  Montcalm 
still  waiting  for  the  aid  he  had  summoned.  At  length, 
about  nine  o'clock,  losing  all  patience,  he  led  on  his  dis 
ciplined  troops  to  a  close  conflict  with  small  arms,  the 
Indians  to  support  them  by  a  galling  fire  from  thickets 
and  corn-fields.  The  French  advanced  gallantly,  but  ir 
regularly  ;  firing  rapidly,  but  with  little  effect.  The  Eng 
lish  reserved  their  fire  until  their  assailants  were  within 
forty  yards,  and  then  delivered  it  in  deadly  volleys.  They 
suffered,  however,  from  the  lurking  savages,  who  singled 
out  the  officers.  Wolfe,  who  was  in  front  of  the  line,  a 
conspicuous  mark,  was  wounded  by  a  ball  in  the  wrist. 
He  bound  his  handkerchief  round  the  wound  and  led  on 
the  grenadiers,  with  fixed  bayonets,  to  charge  the  foe, 
who  began  to  waver.  Another  ball  struck  him  in  the 
breast.  He  felt  the  wound  to  be  mortal,  and  feared  his 
fall  might  dishearten  the  troops.  Leaning  on  a  lieutenant 
for  support,  "  Let  not  my  brave  fellows  see  me  drop,r 
VOL.  i.— 23 


354  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

said  he  faintly.  He  was  borne  off  to  the  rear ;  water  was 
brought  to  quench  his  thirst,  and  he  was  asked  if  he 
would  have  a  surgeon.  "It  is  needless,"  he  replied;  "it 
is  all  over  with  me."  He  desired  those  about  him  to 
lay  him  down.  The  lieutenant  seated  himself  upon  the 
ground,  and  supported  him  in  his  arms.  "They  run! 
they  run!  see  how  they  run!"  cried  one  of  the  attend 
ants.  "Who  run?"  demanded  Wolfe,  earnestly,  like  one 
aroused  from  sleep.  "The  enemy,  sir;  they  give  way 
everywhere."  The  spirit  of  the  expiring  hero  flashed  up. 
"  Go,  one  of  you,  my  lads,  to  Colonel  Burton ;  tell  him  to 
march  Webb's  regiment  with  all  speed  down  to  Charles' 
Biver,  to  cut  off  the  retreat  by  the  bridge."  Then  turn 
ing  on  his  side,  "Now,  God  be  praised,  I  will  die  in 
peace !  "  said  he,  and  expired,* — soothed  in  his  last  mo 
ments  by  the  idea  that  victory  would  obliterate  the  imag 
ined  disgrace  at  Montmorency. 

Brigadier  Murray  had  indeed  broken  the  centre  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  Highlanders  were  making  deadly  havoc 
with  their  claymores,  driving  the  French  into  the  town 
or  down  to  their  works  on  the  river  St.  Charles.  Monck- 
ton,  the  first  brigadier,  was  disabled  by  a  wound  in  the 
lungs,  and  the  command  devolved  on  Townshend,  who 
hastened  to  re-form  the  troops  of  the  centre,  disordered 
in  pursuing  the  enemy.  By  this  time  De  Bougainville 
appeared  at  a  distance  in  the  rear,  advancing  with  two 

*  Hist.  Jour,  of  Capt.  John  Knox,  vol.  i.  p.  79. 


DEATH  OF  MONTCALM.  355 

thousand  fresh  troops,  but  he  arrived  too  late  to  re 
trieve  the  day.  The  gallant  Montcalm  had  received  his 
death-wound  near  St.  John's  Gate,  while  endeavoring 
to  rally  his  flying  troops,  and  had  been  borne  into  the 
town. 

Townshend  advanced  with  a  force  to  receive  De  Bou 
gainville  ;  'but  the  latter  avoided  a  combat,  and  retired 
into  woods  and  swamps,  where  it  was  not  thought  pru 
dent  to  follow  him.  The  English  had  obtained  a  com 
plete  victory,  slain  about  five  hundred  of  the  enemy, 
taken  above  a  thousand  prisoners  and  among  them  sev 
eral  officers,  and  had  a  strong  position  on  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  which  they  hastened  to  fortify  with  redoubts 
and  artillery,  drawn  up  the  heights. 

The  brave  Montcalm  wrote  a  letter  to  General  Towns 
hend,  recommending  the  prisoners  to  British  humanity. 
When  told  by  his  surgeon  that  he  could  not  survive 
above  a  few  hours ;  "  So  much  the  better,"  replied  he ; 
"  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of  Quebec."  To 
De  Ramsey,  the  French  king's  lieutenant,  who  com 
manded  the  garrison,  he  consigned  the  defense  of  the 
city.  "To  your  keeping,"  said  he,  "I  commend  the 
honor  of  France.  I'll  neither  give  orders,  nor  interfere 
any  further.  I  have  business  to  attend  to  of  greater 
moment  than  your  ruined  garrison,  and  this  wretched 
country.  My  time  is  short — I  shall  pass  this  night  with 
God,  and  prepare  myself  for  death.  I  wish  you  all 
comfort ;  and  to  be  happily  extricated  from  your  present 


350  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

perplexities."  He  then  called  for  his  chaplain,  who,  with 
the  bishop  of  the  colony,  remained  with  him  through  the 
night.  He  expired  early  in  the  morning,  dying  like  a 
brave  soldier  and  a  devout  Catholic.  Never  did  two 
worthier  foes  mingle  their  life-blood  on  the  battle-field 
than  Wolfe  and  Montcalm.* 

Preparations  were  now  made  by  the  army  and  the  fleet 
to  make  an  attack  on  both  upper  and  lower  town ;  but  the 
spirit  of  the  garrison  was  broken,  and  the  inhabitants 
were  clamorous  for  the  safety  of  their  wives  and  children. 
On  the  17th  of  September,  Quebec  capitulated,  and  was 
taken  possession  of  by  the  British,  who  hastened  to  put 
it  in  a  complete  posture  of  defense.  A  garrison  of  six 
thousand  effective  men  was  placed  in  it,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Brigadier-general  Murray,  and  victualed  from 
the  fleet.  General  Townshend  embarked  with  Admiral 
Saunders,  and  returned  to  England;  and  the  wounded 
General  Monckton  was  conveyed  to  New  York,  of  which 
he  afterwards  became  governor. 

Had  Amherst  followed  up  his  success  at  Ticonderoga 
the  preceding  summer,  the  year's  campaign  would  have 
ended,  as  had  been  projected,  in  the  subjugation  of  Can 
ada.  His  cautious  delay  gave  De  Levi,  the  successor  of 
Montcalm,  time  to  rally,  concentrate  the  scattered  French 
forces,  and  struggle  for  the  salvation  of  the  province. 

In  the  following  spring,  as  soon  as  the  river  St.  Law- 

*Knox,  Hist.  Jour.  vol.  i.  p.  77, 


DE  LEVI'S  ADVANCE.  357 

rence  opened,  he  approached  Quebec,  and  landed  at  Point 
au  Tremble,  about  twelve  miles  off.  The  garrison  had 
suffered  dreadfully  during  the  winter  from  excessive  cold, 
want  of  vegetables,  and  of  fresh  provisions.  Many  had 
died  of  scurvy,  and  many  more  were  ill.  Murray,  san 
guine  and  injudicious,  on  hearing  that  De  Levi  was  ad 
vancing  with  ten  thousand  men,  and  five  hundred  In 
dians,  sallied  out  with  his  diminished  forces  of  not  more 
than  three  thousand.  English  soldiers,  he  boasted,  were 
habituated  to  victory  ;  he  had  a  fine  train  of  artillery , 
and  stood  a  better  chance  in  the  field  than  cooped  up 
in  a  wretched  fortification.  If  defeated,  he  would  de 
fend  the  place  to  the  last  extremity,  and  then  retreat  to 
the  Isle  of  Orleans,  and  wait  for  reinforcements.  More 
brave  than  discreet,  he  attacked  the  vanguard  of  the 
enemy ;  the  battle  which  took  place  was  fierce  and  san 
guinary.  Murray's  troops  had  caught  his  own  head 
long  valor,  and  fought  until  near  a  third  of  their  num 
ber  were  slain.  They  were  at  length  driven  back  into 
the  town,  leaving  their  boasted  train  of  artillery  on  the 
field. 

De  Levi  opened  trenches  before  the  town  the  very 
evening  of  the  battle.  Three  French  ships,  which  had 
descended  the  river,  furnished  him  with  cannon,  mor 
tars,  and  ammunition.  By  the  llth  of  May,  he  had  one 
bomb  battery,  and  three  batteries  of  cannon.  Murray, 
equally  alert  within  the  walls,  strengthened  his  defenses, 
and  kept  up  a  vigorous  fire.  His  garrison  was  now 


358  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

reduced  to  two  hundred  and  twenty  effective  men, 
and  he  himself,  with  all  his  vaunting  spirit,  was  driven 
almost  to  despair,  when  a  British  fleet  arrived  in  the 
river.  The  whole  scene  was  now  reversed.  One  of 
the  French  frigates  was  driven  on  the  rocks  above 
Cape  Diamond ;  another  ran  on  shore,  and  was  burnt ; 
the  rest  of  their  vessels  were  either  taken  or  de 
stroyed.  The  besieging  army  retreated  in  the  night, 
leaving  provisions,  implements,  and  artillery  behind 
them  ;  and  so  rapid  was  their  flight,  that  Murray,  who 
sallied  forth  on  the  following  day,  could  not  overtake 
them. 

A  last  stand  for  the  preservation  of  the  colony  was  now 
made  by  the  French  at  Montreal,  where  De  Vaudreuil 
fixed  his  head-quarters,  fortified  himself,  and  called  in  all 
possible  aid,  Canadian  and  Indian. 

The  cautious,  but  tardy  Amherst  was  now  in  the  field 
to  carry  out  the  plan  in  which  he  had  fallen  short  in  the 
previous  year.  He  sent  orders  to  General  Murray  to  ad 
vance  by  water  against  Montreal,  with  all  the  force  that 
could  be  spared  from  Quebec  ;  he  detached  a  body  of 
troops  under  Colonel  Haviland  from  Crown  Point,  to 
cross  Lake  Champlain,  take  possession  of  the  Isle  Aux 
Noix,  and  push  on  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  while  he  took  the 
roundabout  way  with  his  main  army  by  the  Mohawk  and 
Oneida  rivers  to  Lake  Ontario ;  thence  to  descend  the 
St.  Lawrence  to  Montreal. 

Murray,  according  to  orders,  embarked  his  troops  in  a 


A  PROPHECY.  359 

great  number  of  small  vessels,  and  ascended  the  river  in 
characteristic  style,  publishing  manifestoes  in  the  Cana 
dian  villages,  disarming  the  inhabitants,  and  exacting  the 
oath  of  neutrality.  He  looked  forward  to  new  laurels  at 
Montreal,  but  the  slow  and  sure  Amherst  had  anticipated 
him.  That  worthy  general,  after  delaying  on  Lake  On 
tario  to  send  out  cruisers,  and  stopping  to  repair  petty 
forts  on  the  upper  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which  had 
been  deserted  by  their  garrisons,  or  surrendered  without 
firing  a  gun,  arrived  on  the  6th  of  September  at  the  island 
of  Montreal,  routed  some  light  skirmishing  parties,  and 
presented  himself  before  the  town.  Vaudreuil  found  him 
self  threatened  by  an  army  of  nearly  ten  thousand  men, 
and  a  host  of  Indians,  for  Amherst  had  called  in  the  aid 
of  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  his  Mohawk  braves.  To 
withstand  a  siege  in  an  almost  open  town  against  such 
superior  force,  was  out  of  the  question,  especially  as 
Murray  from  Quebec,  and  Haviland  from  Crown  Point, 
were  at  hand  with  additional  troops.  A  capitulation 
accordingly  took  place  on  the  8th  of  September,  in 
cluding  the  surrender  not  merely  of  Montreal,  but  of  all 
Canada. 

Thus  ended  the  contest  between  France  and  England 
jbr  dominion  in  America,  in  which,  as  has  been  said,  the 
first  gun  was  fired  in  Washington's  encounter  with  De 
Jumonville.  A  French  statesman  and  diplomatist  con 
soled  himself  by  the  persuasion  that  it  would  be  a  fatal 
triumph  to  England.  It  would  remove  the  only  check 


360  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

by  which  her  colonies  were  kept  in  awe.  "  They  will  no 
longer  need  her  protection,"  said  he ;  "  she  will  call  on 
them  to  contribute  toward  supporting  the  burdens  they 
have  helped  to  bring  on  her,  and  they  wiU  answer  by  strife 
ing  off  all  dependence"* 

*  Count  de  Vergennes,  French  ambassador  at  Constantinople*, 


CHAPTEK  XXVI. 

WASHINGTON'S  INSTALLATION  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  BURGESSES. — HIS  BUBAL  LIFE. 
— MOUNT  VERNON  AND  ITS  VICINITY. — ARISTOCRATICAL  DAYS  OF  VIRGINIA. 
— WASHINGTON'S  MANAGEMENT  OF  HIS  ESTATE. — DOMESTIC  HABITS. — FOX 
HUNTING. — LORD  FAIRFAX. — FISHING  AND  DUCK-SHOOTING. — THE  POACHER. 
— LYNCH  LAW. — AQUATIC  STATE. — LIFE  AT  ANNAPOLIS. — WASHINGTON  IN 
THE  DISMAL  SWAMP. 


OK  three  months  after  his  marriage,  Washington 
resided  with  his  bride  at  the  "White  House." 
During  his  sojourn  there,  he  repaired  to  Wil- 
liamsburg,  to  take  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Burgesses. 
By  a  vote  of  the  House,  it  had  been  determined  to  greet 
his  installation  by  a  signal  testimonial  of  respect.  Ac 
cordingly,  as  soon  as  he  took  his  seat,  Mr.  Bobinson,  the 
Speaker,  in  eloquent  language,  dictated  by  the  warmth 
of  private  friendship,  returned  thanks,  on  behalf  of  the 
colony,  for  the  distinguished  military  services  he  had 
rendered  to  his  country. 

Washington  rose  to  reply  ;  blushed — stammered — trem 
bled,  and  could  not  utter  a  word.  "  Sit  down,  Mr.  Wash 
ington,"  said  the  Speaker,  with  a  smile ;  "  your  modesty 
equals  your  valor,  and  that  surpasses  the  power  of  any 
language  I  possess." 

361 


362  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Such  was  Washington's  first  launch  into  civil  life,  in 
which  he  was  to  be  distinguished  by  the  same  judgment, 
devotion,  courage,  and  magnanimity  exhibited  in  his  mili 
tary  career.  He  attended  the  House  frequently  during 
the  remainder  of  the  session,  after  which  he  conducted 
his  bride  to  his  favorite  abode  of  Mount  Vernon. 

Mr.  Custis,  the  first  husband  of  Mrs.  Washington,  had 
left  large  landed  property,  and  forty-five  thousand  pounds 
sterling  in  money.  One  third  fell  to  his  widow  in  her  own 
right ;  two  thirds  were  inherited  equally  by  her  two  chil 
dren, — a  boy  of  six,  and  a  girl  of  four  years  of  age.  By  a 
decree  of  the  General  Court,  Washington  was  intrusted 
with  the  care  of  the  property  inherited  by  the  children ; 
a  sacred  and  delicate  trust,  which  he  discharged  in  the 
most  faithful  and  judicious  manner ;  becoming  more  like 
a  parent,  than  a  mere  guardian  to  them. 

From  a  letter  to  his  correspondent  in  England,  it  would 
appear  that  he  had  long  entertained  a  desire  to  visit  that 
country.  Had  he  done  so,  his  acknowledged  merit  and 
military  services  would  have  insured  him  a  distinguished 
reception;  and  it  has  been  intimated,  that  the  signal 
favor  of  government  might  have  changed  the  current  of 
his  career.  We  believe  him,  however,  to  have  been  too 
pure  a  patriot,  and  too  clearly  possessed  of  the  true  in 
terests  of  his  country,  to  be  diverted  from  the  course 
which  he  ultimately  adopted.  His  marriage,  at  any  rate, 
had  put  an  end  to  all  travelling  inclinations.  In  his  letter 
from  Mount  Vernon,  he  writes  :  "  I  am  now,  I  believe, 


RURAL  LIFE.  363 

fixed  in  this  seat,  with  an  agreeable  partner  for  life,  and  I 
hope  to  find  more  happiness  in  retirement  than  I  ever 
experienced  in  the  wide  and  bustling  world." 

This  was  no  Utopian  dream  transiently  indulged,  amid 
the  charms  of  novelty.  It  was  a  deliberate  purpose 
with  him,  the  result  of  innate  and  enduring  inclina 
tions.  Throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  career,  agri 
cultural  life  appears  to  have  been  his  beau  ideal  of  exist 
ence,  which  haunted  his  thoughts  even  amid  the  stern 
duties  of  the  field,  and  to  which  he  recurred  with  un 
flagging  interest  whenever  enabled  to  indulge  his  natural 
bias. 

Mount  Vernon  was  his  harbor  of  repose,  where  he 
repeatedly  furled  his  sail,  and  fancied  himself  anchored 
for  life.  No  impulse  of  ambition  tempted  him  thence ; 
nothing  but  the  call  of  his  country,  and  his  devotion  to 
the  public  good.  The  place  was  endeared  to  him  by  the 
remembrance  of  his  brother  Lawrence,  and  of  the  happy 
days  he  had  passed  here  with  that  brother  in  the  days  of 
boyhood ;  but  it  was  a  delightful  place  in  itself,  and  well 
calculated  to  inspire  the  rural  feeling. 

The  mansion  was  beautifully  situated  on  a  swelling 
height,  crowned  with  wood,  and  commanding  a  mag 
nificent  view  up  and  down  the  Potomac.  The  grounds 
immediately  about  it  were  laid  out  somewhat  in  the  Eng 
lish  taste.  The  estate  was  apportioned  into  separate 
farms,  devoted  to  different  kinds  of  culture,  each  having 
its  allotted  laborers.  Much,  however,  was  still  covered 


364:  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

with  wild  woods,  seamed  with  deep  dells  and  runs  of 
water,  and  indented  with  inlets;  haunts  of  deer,  and 
lurking-places  of  foxes.  The  whole  woody  region  along 
the  Potomac  from  Mount  Vernon  to  Belvoir,  and  far  be 
yond,  with  its  range  of  forests  and  hills,  and  picturesque 
promontories,  afforded  sport  of  various  kinds,  and  was  a 
noble  hunting-ground.  Washington  had  hunted  through 
it  with  old  Lord  Fairfax  in  his  stripling  days ;  we  do  not 
wonder  that  his  feelings  throughout  life  incessantly  re 
verted  to  it. 

"  No  estate  in  United  America,"  observes  he,  in  one  of 
his  letters,  "  is  more  pleasantly  situated  In  a  high  and 
healthy  country ;  in  a  latitude  between  x  ae  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold ;  on  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the  world  ; 
a  river  well  stocked  with  various  kinds  of  fish  at  all  sea 
sons  of  the  year,  and  in  the  spring  with  shad,  herrings, 
bass,  carp,  sturgeon,  etc.,  in  great  abundance.  The  bor 
ders  of  the  estate  are  washed  by  more  than  ten  miles  of 
tide- water ;  several  valuable  fisheries  appertain  to  it ;  the 
whole  shore,  in  fact,  is  one  entire  fishery." 

These  were,  as  yet,  the  aristocratical  days  of  Virginia. 
The  estates  were  large,  and  continued  in  the  same  fam 
ilies  by  entails.  Many  of  the  wealthy  planters  were  con 
nected  with  old  families  in  England.  The  young  men, 
especially  the  elder  sons,  were  often  sent  to  finish  their 
education  there,  and  on  their  return  brought  out  the 
tastes  and  habits  of  the  mother  country.  The  govern 
ors  of  Virginia  were  from  the  higher  ranks  of  society,  and 


ARISTOGRATICAL  DAYS  OF  VIRGINIA.  365 

maintained  a  corresponding  state.  The  "Established," 
or  Episcopal  Church,  predominated  throughout  the 
ancient  "  dominion,"  as  it  was  termed ;  each  county  was 
divided  into  parishes,  as  in  England, — each  with  its  pa 
rochial  church,  its  parsonage  and  glebe.  Washington 
was  vestryman  of  two  parishes,  Fairfax  and  Truro ;  the 
parochial  church  of  the  former  was  at  Alexandria,  ten 
miles  from  Mount  Yernon  ;  of  the  latter,  at  Pohick, 
about  seven  miles.  The  church  at  Pohick  was  rebuilt 
on  a  plan  of  his  own,  and  in  a  great  measure  at  his 
expense.  At  one  or  other  of  these  churches  he  attended 
every  Sunday,  when  the  weather  and  the  roads  permit 
ted.  His  demeanor  was  reverential  and  devout.  Mrs. 
"Washington  knelt  during  the  prayers  ;  he  always  stood, 
as  was  the  custom  at  that  time.  Both  were  commu 
nicants. 

Among  his  occasional  visitors  and  associates  were 
Captain  Hugh  Mercer  and  Dr.  Craik;  the  former,  after 
his  narrow  escapes  from  the  tomahawk  and  scalping- 
knife,  was  quietly  settled  at  Fredericksburg ;  the  latter, 
after  the  campaigns  on  the  frontier  were  over,  had  taken 
up  his  residence  at  Alexandria,  and  was  now  Washing 
ton's  family  physician.  Both  were  drawn  to  him  by 
campaigning  ties  and  recollections,  and  were  ever  wel 
come  at  Mount  Vernon. 

A  style  of  living  prevailed  among  the  opulent  Virgin 
ian  families  in  those  days  that  has  long  since  faded  away. 
The  houses  were  spacious,  commodious,  liberal  in  all 


366  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

their  appointments,  and  fitted  to  cope  with  the  free 
handed,  open-hearted  hospitality  of  the  owners.  Nothing 
was  more  common  than  to  see  handsome  services  of 
plate,  elegant  equipages,  and  superb  carriage  horses — 
all  imported  from  England. 

The  Virginians  have  always  been  noted  for  their  love 
of  horses,  a  manly  passion  which,  in  those  days  of  opu 
lence,  they  indulged  without  regard  to  expense.  The 
rich  planters  vied  with  each  other  in  their  studs,  import 
ing  the  best  English  stocks.  Mention  is  made  of  one  of 
the  Bandolphs  of  Tuckahoe,  who  built  a  stable  for  his 
favorite  dapple-gray  horse,  Shakespeare,  with  a  recess 
for  the  bed  of  the  negro  groom,  who  always  slept  beside 
him  at  night. 

Washington,  by  his  marriage,  had  added  above  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to  his  already  considerable 
fortune,  and  was  enabled  to  live  in  ample  and  dignified 
style.  His  intimacy  with  the  Fairfaxes,  and  his  inter 
course  with  British  officers  of  rank,  had  perhaps  had 
their  influence  on  his  mode  of  living.  He  had  his  chariot 
and  four,  with  black  postilions  in  livery,  for  the  use  of 
Mrs.  Washington  and  her  lady  visitors.  As  for  himself, 
he  always  appeared  on  horseback.  His  stable  was  well 
filled  and  admirably  regulated.  His  stud  was  thorough 
bred  and  in  excellent  order.  His  household  books  con 
tain  registers  of  the  names,  ages,  and  marks  of  his 
various  horses ;  such  as  Ajax,  Blueskin,  Valiant,  Mag 
nolia  (an  Arab),  etc.  Also  his  dogs,  chiefly  fox-hounds. 


VIRGINIAN  MANSION-HOUSE. 

Vulcan,  Singer,  Ringwood,  Sweetlips,    Forester,  Music, 
Rock  wood,  Truelove,  etc.* 

A  large  Virginia  estate,  in  those  days,  was  a  little 
empire.  The  mansion-house  was  the  seat  of  government, 
with  its  numerous  dependencies,  such  as  kitchens, 
smoke-houses,  workshops,  and  stables.  In  this  mansion 
the  planter  ruled  supreme ;  his  steward  or  overseer  was 
his  prime  minister  and  executive  officer  ;  he  had  his  legion 
of  house  negroes  for  domestic  service,  and  his  host  of 
field  negroes  for  the  culture  of  tobacco,  Indian  corn,  and 
other  crops,  and  for  other  out-of-door  labor.  Their  quar 
ter  formed  a  kind  of  hamlet  apart,  composed  of  various 
huts,  with  little  gardens  and  poultry  yards,  all  well 
stocked,  and  swarms  of  little  negroes  gamboling  in  the 
sunshine.  Then  there  were  large  wooden  edifices  for 
curing  tobacco,  the  staple  and  most  profitable  produc 
tion,  and  mills  for  grinding  wheat  and  Indian  corn,  of 


*  In  one  of  his  letter-books  we  find  orders  on  his  London  agent  for  rid 
ing  equipments.  For  example : — 

1  man's  riding-saddle,  hogskin  seat,  large  plated  stirrups  and  every 
thing  complete.  Double-reined  bridle  and  Pelham  bit,  plated. 

A  very  neat  and  fashionable  Newmarket  saddle-cloth. 

A  large  and  best  portmanteau,  saddle,  bridle,  and  pillion. 

Cloak-bag  surcingle  ;  checked  saddle-cloth,  holsters,  etc. 

A  riding-frock  of  a  handsome  drab-colored  broadcloth,  with  plain  dour 
ble  gilt  buttons. 

A  riding  waistcoat  of  superfine  scarlet  cloth  and  gold  lace,  with  but/ 
tons  like  those  of  the  coat. 

A  blue  surtout  coat. 

A  neat  switch  whip,  silver  cap. 

Black  velvet  cap  for  servant. 


368  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

which  large  fields  were  cultivated  for  the  supply  of  the 
family  and  the  maintenance  of  the  negroes. 

Among  the  slaves  were  artificers  of  all  kinds,  tailors, 
shoemakers,  carpenters,  smiths,  wheelwrights,  and  so 
forth;  so  that  a  plantation  produced  everything  within 
itself  for  ordinary  use ;  as  to  articles  of  fashion  and  ele 
gance,  luxuries  and  expensive  clothing,  they  were  im 
ported  from  London  ;  for  the  planters  on  the  main  rivers, 
especially  the  Potomac,  carried  on  an  immediate  trade 
with  England.  Their  tobacco  was  put  up  by  their  own 
negroes,  bore  their  own  marks,  was  shipped  on  board  of 
vessels  which  came  up  the  rivers  for  the  purpose,  and 
consigned  to  some  agent  in  Liverpool  or  Bristol,  with 
whom  the  planter  kept  an  account. 

The  Virginia  planters  were  prone  to  leave  the  care  of 
their  estates  too  much  to  their  overseers,  and  to  think 
personal  labor  a  degradation.  Washington  carried  into 
his  rural  affairs  the  same  method,  activity,  and  circum 
spection  that  had  distinguished  him  in  military  life.  Ho 
kept  his  own  accounts,  posted  up  his  books  and  balanced 
them  with  mercantile  exactness.  We  have  examined 
them,  as  well  as  his  diaries  recording  his  daily  occupa 
tions,  and  his  letter-books,  containing  entries  of  ship 
ments  of  tobacco,  and  correspondence  with  his  London 
agents.  They  are  monuments  of  his  business  habits.* 

*  The  following  letter  of  Washington  to  his  London  correspondents 
will  give  an  idea  of  the  early  intercourse  of  the  Virginia  planters  with  the 
mother  country : 

"  Our  goods  by  the  Liberty,  Capt.  Walker,  came  to  hand  in  good  order, 


DOMESTIC  HABITS.  369 

The  products  of  his  estate  also  became  so  noted  for  the 
faithfulness,  as  to  quality  and  quantity,  with  which  they 
were  put  up,  that  it  is  said  any  barrel  of  flour  that  bore 
the  brand  of  George  Washington,  Mount  Vernon,  was 
exempted  from  the  customary  inspection  in  the  West 
India  ports.*  . 

He  was  an  early  riser,  often  before  daybreak  in  the 
winter  when  the  nights  were  long.  On  such  occasions  he 
lit  his  own  fire  and  wrote  or  read  by  candle-light.  He 
breakfasted  at  seven  in  summer,  at  eight  in  winter.  Two 
small  cups  of  tea  and  three  or  four  cakes  of  Indian  meal 
(called  hoe-cakes),  formed  his  frugal  repast.  Immediately 
after  breakfast  he  mounted  his  horse  and  visited  those 
parts  of  the  estate  where  any  work  was  going  on,  seeing 
to  everything  with  his  own  eyes,  and  often  aiding  with 
his  own  hand. 

Dinner  was  served  at  two  o'clock.    He  ate  heartily,  but 


and  soon  after  his  arrival,  as  they  generally  do  when  shipped  in  a  vessel 
to  this  river  [the  Potomac],  and  scarce  ever  when  they  go  to  any  others  ; 
for  it  don't  often  happen  that  a  vessel  bound  to  one  river  has  goods  of  any 
consequence  to  another  ;  and  the  masters,  in  these  cases,  keep  the  pack 
ages  till  an  accidental  conveyance  offers,  and  for  want  of  better  opportu 
nities  frequently  commit  them  to  boatmen  who  care  very  little  for  the 
goods  so  they  get  their  freight,  and  often  land  them  wherever  it  suits 

their  convenience,  not  where  they  have  engaged  to  do  so A 

ship  from  London  to  Virginia  may  be  in  Rappahannock  or  any  of  the 
other  rivers  three  months  before  I  know  anything  of  their  arrival,  and 
may  make  twenty  voyages  without  my  seeing  or  even  hearing  of  the 
captain." 

*  Speech  of  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  on  laying  the  corner-stone 
ot  Washington's  Monument. 
VOL.  i.— -24 


370  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

was  no  epicure,  nor  critical  about  his  food.  His  beverage 
was  small  beer  or  cider,  and  two  glasses  of  old  Madeira. 
He  took  tea,  of  which  he  was  very  fond,  early  in  the  even 
ing,  and  retired  for  the  night  about  nine  o'clock. 

If  confined  to  the  house  by  bad  weather,  he  took  that 
occasion  to  arrange  his  papers,  post  up  his  accounts,  or 
write  letters ;  passing  part  of  the  time  in  reading,  and 
occasionally  reading  aloud  to  the  family. 

He  treated  his  negroes  with  kindness ;  attended  to  their 
comforts;  was  particularly  careful  of  them  in  sickness; 
but  never  tolerated  idleness,  and  exacted  a  faithful  per 
formance  of  all  their  allotted  tasks.  He  had  a  quick  eye 
at  calculating  each  man's  capabilities.  An  entry  in  his 
diary  gives  a  curious  instance  of  this.  Four  of  his  ne 
groes,  employed  as  carpenters,  were  hewing  and  shaping 
timber.  It  appeared  to  him,  in  noticing  the  amount  of 
work  accomplished  between  two  succeeding  mornings, 
that  they  loitered  at  their  labor.  Sitting  down  quietly  he 
timed  their  operations;  how  long  it  took  them  to  get 
their  cross-cut  saw  and  other  implements  ready;  how 
long  to  clear  away  the  branches  from  the  trunk  of  a  fallen 
tree ;  how  long  to  hew  and  saw  it ;  what  time  was  ex 
pended  in  considering  and  consulting,  and  after  all,  how 
much  work  was  effected  during  the  time  he  looked  on. 
From  this  he  made  his  computation  how  much  they  could 
execute  in  the  course  of  a  day,  working  entirely  at  their 
ease. 

At  another  time  we  find  him  working  for  a  part  of  two 


FOX-HUNTING.  371 

tfays  with  Peter,  his  smith,  to  make  a  plough  on  a  new 
invention  of  his  own.  This,  after  two  or  three  failures, 
he  accomplished.  Then,  with  less  than  his  usual  judg 
ment,  he  put  his  two  chariot  horses  to  the  plough,  and 
ran  a  great  risk  of  spoiling  them,  in  giving  his  new  inven 
tion  a  trial  over  ground  thickly  swarded. 

Anon,  during  a  thunderstorm,  a  frightened  negro  alarms 
the  house  with  word  that  the  mill  is  giving  way,  upon 
which  there  is  a  general  turn-out  of  all  the  forces,  with 
Washington  at  their  head,  wheeling  and  shoveling  gravel, 
during  a  pelting  rain,  to  check  the  rushing  water. 

Washington  delighted  in  the  chase.  In  the  hunting 
season,  when  he  rode  out  early  in  the  morning  to  visit 
distant  parts  of  the  estate,  where  work  was  going  on,  he 
often  took  some  of  the  dogs  with  him  for  the  chance  of 
starting  a  fox,  which  he  occasionally  did,  though  he  was 
not  always  successful  in  killing  him.  He  was  a  bold  rider 
and  an  admirable  horseman,  though  he  never  claimed  the 
merit  of  being  an  accomplished  fox-hunter.  In  the  height 
of  the  season,  however,  he  would  be  out  with  the  fox 
hounds  two  or  three  times  a  week,  accompanied  by  his 
guests  at  Mount  Vernon  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  neigh 
borhood,  especially  the  Fairfaxes  of  Belvoir,  of  which 
estate  his  friend  George  William  Fairfax  was  now  the 
proprietor.  On  such  occasions  there  would  be  a  hunting 
dinner  at  one  or  other  of  those  establishments,  at  which 
convivial  repasts  Washington  is  said  to  have  enjoyed 
himself  with  unwonted  hilarity. 


372  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Now  and  then  his  old  friend  and  instructor  in  the  noble 
art  of  venery,  Lord  Fairfax,  would  be  on  a  visit  to  his 
relatives  at  Belvoir,  and  then  the  hunting  was  kept  up 
with  unusual  spirit.* 

His  lordship,  however,  since  the  alarms  of  Indian  war 
had  ceased,  lived  almost  entirely  at  Greenway  Court, 
where  Washington  was  occasionally  a  guest,  when  called 
by  public  business  to  Winchester.  Lord  Fairfax  had 
made  himself  a  favorite  throughout  the  neighborhood. 
As  lord-lieutenant  and  custos  rotulorum  of  Frederick 
County  he  presided  at  county  courts  held  at  Winchester, 
where,  during  the  sessions,  he  kept  open  table.  He  acted 
also  as  surveyor  and  overseer  of  the  public  roads  and 
highways,  and  was  unremitting  in  his  exertions  and 
plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  country.  Hunting, 
however,  was  his  passion.  When  the  sport  was  poor 
near  home,  he  would  take  his  hounds  to  a  distant  part 
of  the  country,  establish  himself  at  an  inn,  and  keep 
open  house  and  open  table  to  every  person  of  good  char- 


*  Hunting  memoranda  from  Washington's  journal,  Mount  Vernon : — 

Nov.  22. — Hunting  with  Lord  Fairfax  and  his  brother,  and  Colonel 
Fairfax. 

Nov.  25. — Mr.  Bryan  Fairfax,  Mr.  Grayson,  and  Phil.  Alexander 
came  here  by  sunrise.  Hunted  and  catched  a  fox  with  these,  Lord 
Fairfax,  his  brother,  and  Col.  Fairfax, —all  of  whom,  with  Mr.  Fairfax 
and  Mr.  Wilson  of  England,  dined  here.  26th  and  29th.— Hunted 
again  with  the  same  company. 

Dec.  5. — Fox-hunting  with  Lord  Fairfax  and  his  brother,  and 
Colonel  Fairfax.  Started  a  fox  and  lost  it.  Dined  at  Belvoir,  and 
returned  in  the  evening. 


FISHING  AND  DUCK-SHOOTING.  373 

acter  and  respectable  appearance  who  chose  to  join  him 
in  following  the  hounds. 

It  was  probably  in  quest  of  sport  of  the  kind  that  he 
now  and  then,  in  the  hunting  season,  revisited  his  old 
haunts  and  former  companions  on  the  banks  of  the  Poto 
mac,  and  then  the  beautiful  woodland  region  about  Bel- 
voir  and  Mount  Vernon  was  sure  to  ring  at  early  morn 
with  the  inspiring  music  of  the  hound. 

The  waters  of  the  Potomac  also  afforded  occasional 
amusement  in  fishing  and  shooting.  The  fishing  was 
sometimes  on  a  grand  scale,  when  the  herrings  came  up 
the  river  in  shoals,  and  the  negroes  of  Mount  Vernon 
were  marshaled  forth  to  draw  the  seine,  which  was  gen 
erally  done  with  great  success.  Canvas-back  ducks 
abounded  at  the  proper  season,  and  the  shooting  of  them 
was  one  of  Washington's  favorite  recreations.  The  river 
border  of  his  domain,  however,  was  somewhat  subject  to 
invasion.  An  oysterman  once  anchored  his  craft  at  the 
landing-place,  and  disturbed  the  quiet  of  the  neighbor 
hood  by  the  insolent  and  disorderly  conduct  of  himself 
and  crew.  It  took  a  campaign  of  three  days  to  expel 
these  invaders  from  the  premises. 

A  more  summary  course  was  pursued  with  another 
interloper.  This  was  a  vagabond  who  infested  the  creeks 
and  inlets  which  bordered  the  estate,  lurking  in  a  canoe 
among  the  reeds  and  bushes,  and  making  great  havoc 
among  the  canvas-back  ducks.  He  had  been  warned  off 
repeatedly,  but  without  effect.  As  Washington  was  one 


374  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

day  riding  about  the  estate  he  heard  the  report  of  a  gun 
from  the  margin  of  the  river.  Spurring  in  that  direction 
he  dashed  through  the  bushes  and  came  upon  the  cul 
prit  just  as  he  was  pushing  his  canoe  from  shore.  The 
latter  raised  his  gun  with  a  menacing  look ;  but  Wash 
ington  rode  into  the  stream,  seized  the  painter  of  the 
canoe,  drew  it  to  shore,  sprang  from  his  horse,  wrested 
the  gun  from  the  hands  of  the  astonished  delinquent,  and 
inflicted  on  him  a  lesson  in  "  lynch  law  "  that  effectually 
cured  him  of  all  inclination  to  trespass  again  on  these 
forbidden  shores. 

The  Potomac,  in  the  palmy  days  of  Virginia,  was  occa 
sionally  the  scene  of  a  little  aquatic  state  and  ostentation 
among  the  rich  planters  who  resided  on  its  banks.  They 
had  beautiful  barges,  which,  like  their  land  equipages, 
were  imported  from  England ;  and  mention  is  made  of  a 
Mr.  Digges  who  always  received  Washington  in  his  barge, 
rowed  by  six  negroes,  arrayed  in  a  kind  of  uniform  of 
check  shirts  and  black  velvet  caps.  At  one  time,  ac 
cording  to  notes  in  Washington's  diary,  the  whole  neigh 
borhood  is  thrown  into  a  paroxysm  of  festivity,  by  the 
anchoring  of  a  British  frigate  (the  Boston)  in  the  river, 
just  in  front  of  the  hospitable  mansion  of  the  Fairfaxes. 
A  succession  of  dinners  and  breakfasts  takes  place  at 
Mount  Vernon  and  Belvoir,  with  occasional  tea  parties  on 
board  of  the  frigate.  The  commander,  Sir  Thomas  Adams, 
his  officers,  and  his  midshipmen,  are  cherished  guests, 
and  have  the  freedom  of  both  establishments. 


SOCIETY  AT  ANNAPOLIS,  375 

Occasionally  he  and  Mrs.  Washington  would  pay  a  visit 
to  Annapolis,  at  that  time  the  seat  of  government  of 
Maryland,  and  partake  of  the  gayeties  which  prevailed 
during  the  session  of  the  legislature.  The  society  of 
these  seats  of  provincial  government  was  always  polite 
and  fashionable,  and  more  exclusive  than  in  these  repub 
lican  days,  being,  in  a  manner,  the  outposts  of  the  English 
aristocracy,  where  all  places  of  dignity  or  profit  were 
secured  for  younger  sons,  and  poor,  but  proud  relatives. 
During  the  session  of  the  legislature,  dinners  and  balls 
abounded,  and  there  were  occasional  attempts  at  theat 
ricals.  The  latter  was  an  amusement  for  which  Washing 
ton  always  had  a  relish,  though  he  never  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  gratifying  it  effectually.  Neither  was  he  dis 
inclined  to  mingle  in  the  dance,  and  we  remember  to  have 
heard  venerable  ladies,  who  had  been  belles  in  his  day, 
pride  themselves  on  having  had  him  for  a  partner,  though, 
they  added,  he  was  apt  to  be  a  ceremonious  and  grave 
one.* 


*  "We  have  had  an  amusing  picture  of  Annapolis,  as  it  was  at  this 
period,  furnished  to  us,  some  years  since,  by  an  octogenarian  who  had 
resided  there  in  his  boyhood.  "In  those  parts  of  the  country,"  said  he, 
44  where  the  roads  were  too  rough  for  carriages,  the  ladies  used  to  ride  on 
ponies,  followed  by  black  servants  on  horseback;  "in  this  way  his  mother, 
then  advanced  in  life,  used  to  travel,  in  a  scarlet  cloth  riding-habit,  which 
she  had  procured  from  England.  "Nay,  in  this  way,  on  emergencies," 
he  added,  "the  young  ladies  from  the  country  used  to  come  to  the  balls 
at  Annapolis,  riding  with  their  hoops  arranged  « fore  and  aft '  like  lateen 
sails  ;  and  after  dancing  all  night,  would  ride  home  again  in  the  morn 
ing." 


376  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  this  round  of  rural  occupation,  rural  amusements, 
and  social  intercourse,  Washington  passed  several  tran 
quil  years,  the  halcyon  season  of  his  life.  His  already 
established  reputation  drew  many  visitors  to  Mount  Ver- 
non;  some  of  his  early  companions  in  arms  were  his 
occasional  guests,  and  his  friendships  and  connections 
linked  him  with  some  of  the  most  prominent  and  worthy 
people  of  the  country,  who  were  sure  to  be  received  with 
cordial,  but  simple  and  unpretending  hospitality.  His 
marriage  was  unblessed  with  children ;  but  those  of 
Mrs.  Washington  experienced  from  him  parental  care 
and  affection,  and  the  formation  of  their  minds  and  man 
ners  was  one  of  the  dearest  objects  of  his  attention.  His 
domestic  concerns  and  social  enjoyments,  however,  were 
not  permitted  to  interfere  with  his  public  duties.  He  was 
active  by  nature,  and  eminently  a  man  of  business  by 
habit.  As  judge  of  the  county  court,  and  member  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  he  had  numerous  calls  upon  his 
time  and  thoughts,  and  was  often  drawn  from  home ;  for 
whatever  trust  he  undertook,  he  was  sure  to  fulfill  with 
scrupulous  exactness. 

About  this  time  we  find  him  engaged,  with  other  men 
of  enterprise,  in  a  project  to  drain  the  great  Dismal 
Swamp,  and  render  it  capable  of  cultivation.  This  vast 
morass  was  about  thirty  miles  long,  and  ten  miles  wide, 
and  its  interior  but  little  known.  With  his  usual  zeal 
and  hardihood  he  explored  it  on  horseback  and  on  foot. 
In  many  parts  it  was  covered  with  dark  and  gloomy 


DISMAL  SWAMP.  377 

woods  of  cedar,  cypress,  and  hemlock,  or  deciduous  trees, 
the  branches  of  which  were  hung  with  long,  drooping 
moss.  Other  parts  were  almost  inaccessible,  from  the 
density  of  brakes  and  thickets,  entangled  with  vines, 
briers,  and  creeping  plants,  and  intersected  by  creeks 
and  standing  pools.  Occasionally  the  soil,  composed  of 
dead  vegetable  fibre,  was  over  his  horse's  fetlocks,  and 
sometimes  he  had  to  dismount  and  make  his  way  on  foot 
over  a  quaking  bog  that  shook  beneath  his  tread. 

In  the  centre  of  the  morass  he  came  to  a  great  piece  of 
water,  six  miles  long,  and  three  broad,  called  Drum- 
mond's  Pond,  but  more  poetically  celebrated  as  the  Lake 
of  the  Dismal  Swamp.  It  was  more  elevated  than  any 
other  part  of  the  swamp,  and  capable  of  feeding  canals, 
by  which  the  whole  might  be  traversed.  Having  made 
the  circuit  of  it,  and  noted  all  its  characteristics,  he  en 
camped  for  the  night  upon  the  firm  land  which  bordered 
it,  and  finished  his  explorations  on  the  following  day. 

In  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  the 
association  in  behalf  of  which  he  had  acted,  was  char 
tered  under  the  name  of  the  Dismal  Swamp  Company ; 
and  to  his  observations  and  forecast  may  be  traced  the 
subsequent  improvement  and  prosperity  of  that  once 
desolate  region. 


CHAPTEE  XXVH. 

TREATY  OF  PEACE. — PONTIAC'S  WAR. — COURSE  OF  PUBLIC  EVENTS. — BOARD  OB 
TRADE  AGAINST  PAPER  CURRENCY. — RESTRICTIVE  POLICY  OF  ENGLAND.—- 
NAVIGATION  LAWS. — DISCONTENTS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. — OF  THE  OTHER 
COLONIES. — PROJECTS  TO  RAISE  REVENUE  BY  TAXATION. — BLOW  AT  THE 
INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  JUDICIARY. — NAVAL  COMMANDERS  EMPLOYED  AS 
CUSTOM-HOUSE  OFFICERS.— RETALIATION  OF  THE  COLONISTS.— TAXATION 
RESISTED  IN  BOSTON. — PASSING  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT. — BURST  OF  OPPOSI 
TION  IN  VIRGINIA. — SPEECH  OF  PATRICK  HENRY. 

IDINGS  of  peace  gladdened  the  colonies  in  the 
spring  of  1763.  The  definitive  treaty  between 
England  and  France  had  been  signed  at  Fon- 
tainebleau.  Now,  it  was  trusted,  there  would  be  an  end 
to  those  horrid  ravages  that  had  desolated  the  interior 
of  the  country.  "  The  desert  and  the  silent  place  would 
rejoice,  and  the  wilderness  would  blossom  like  the  rose." 
The  month  of  May  proved  the  fallacy  of  such  hopes. 
In  that  month  the  famous  insurrection  of  the  Indian 
tribes  broke  out,  which,  from  the  name  of  the  chief  who 
was  its  prime  mover  and  master  spirit,  is  commonly 
called  Pontiac's  War.  The  Delawares  and  Shawnees, 
and  other  of  those  emigrant  tribes  of  the  Ohio,  among 
whom  "Washington  had  mingled,  were  formost  in  this 
conspiracy.  Some  of  the  chiefs  who  had  been  his  allies, 

378 


PONTIAC'S   WAR.  379 

had  now  taken  up  the  hatchet  against  the  English.  The 
plot  was  deep  laid,  and  conducted  with  Indian  craft  and 
secrecy.  At  a  concerted  time  an  attack  was  made  upon  all 
the  posts  from  Detroit  to  Fort  Pitt  (late  Fort  Duquesne). 
Several  of  the  small  stockaded  forts,  the  places  of  refuge 
of  woodland  neighborhoods,  were  surprised  and  sacked 
with  remorseless  butchery.  The  frontiers  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  were  laid  waste;  traders 
in  the  wilderness  were  plundered  and  slain ;  hamlets  and 
farm-houses  were  wrapped  in  flames,  and  their  inhabi 
tants  massacred.  Shingiss,  with  his  Delaware  warriors, 
blockaded  Fort  Pitt,  which,  for  some  time,  was  in  immi 
nent  danger.  Detroit,  also,  came  near  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  savages.  It  needed  all  the  influence  of  Sir 
"William  Johnson,  that  potentate  in  savage  life,  to  keep 
the  Six  Nations  from  joining  this  formidable  conspir 
acy  ;  had  they  done  so,  the  triumph  of  the  tomahawk 
and  scalping  knife  would  have  been  complete ;  as  it  was, 
a  considerable  time  elapsed  before  the  frontier  was  re 
stored  to  tolerable  tranquillity. 

Fortunately,  Washington's  retirement  from  the  army 
prevented  his  being  entangled  in  this  savage  war,  which 
raged  throughout  the  regions  he  had  repeatedly  visited ; 
or  rather  his  active  spirit  had  been  diverted  into  a  more 
peaceful  channel,  for  he  was  at  this  time  occupied  in  the 
enterprise  just  noticed,  for  draining  the  great  Dismal 
Swamp. 

Public  events  were  now  taking  a  tendency  which,  with- 


380  LWE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

out  any  political  aspiration  or  forethought  of  his  own, 
was  destined  gradually  to  bear  him  away  from  his  quiet 
home  and  individual  pursuits,  and  launch  him  upon  a 
grander  and  wider  sphere  of  action  than  any  in  which  he 
had  hitherto  been  engaged. 

The  prediction  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes  was  in  the 
process  of  fulfillment.  The  recent  war  of  Great  Britain 
for  dominion  in  America,  though  crowned  with  success, 
had  engendered  a  progeny  of  discontents  in  her  colonies. 
Washington  was  among  the  first  to  perceive  its  bitter 
fruits.  British  merchants  had  complained  loudly  of 
losses  sustained  by  the  depreciation  of  the  colonial  paper, 
issued  during  the  late  war,  in  times  of  emergency,  and 
had  addressed  a  memorial  on  the  subject  to  the  Board  of 
Trade.  Scarce  was  peace  concluded,  when  an  order  from 
the  board  declared  that  no  paper,  issued  by  colonial 
assemblies,  should  thenceforward  be  a  legal  tender  in  the 
payment  of  debts.  "Washington  deprecated  this  "  stir 
of  the  merchants  "  as  peculiarly  ill-timed ;  and  expressed 
an  apprehension  that  the  orders  in  question  "  would  set 
the  whole  country  in  flames." 

We  do  not  profess,  in  this  personal  memoir,  to  enter 
into  a  wide  scope  of  general  history,  but  shall  content 
ourselves  with  a  glance  at  the  circumstances  and  events 
which  gradually  kindled  the  conflagration  thus  appre 
hended  by  the  anxious  mind  of  Washington. 

Whatever  might  be  the  natural  affection  of  the  colo 
nies  for  the  mother  country, — and  there  are  abundant 


RESTRICTIONS  OF  PARLIAMENT.  381 

evidences  to  prove  that  it  was  deep-rooted  and  strong, — 
it  had  never  been  properly  reciprocated.  They  yearned 
to  be  considered  as  children ;  they  were  treated  by  her 
as  changelings.  Burke  testifies  that  her  policy  toward 
them  from  the  beginning  had  been  purely  commercial, 
and  her  commercial  policy  wholly  restrictive.  "  It  was 
the  system  of  a  monopoly." 

Her  navigation  laws  had  shut  their  ports  against  for 
eign  vessels  ;  obliged  them  to  export  their  productions 
only  to  countries  belonging  to  the  British  crown ;  to 
import  European  goods  solely  from  England,  and  in 
English  ships ;  and  had  subjected  the  trade  between  the 
colonies  to  duties.  All  manufactures,  too,  in  the  colo 
nies  that  might  interfere  with  those  of  the  mother  coun 
try  had  been  either  totally  prohibited,  or  subjected  to 
intolerable  restraints. 

The  acts  of  Parliament,  imposing  these  prohibitions 
and  restrictions,  had  at  various  times  produced  sore  dis 
content  and  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  colonies,  espe 
cially  among  those  of  New  England.  The  interests  of 
these  last  were  chiefly  commercial,  and  among  them  the 
republican  spirit  predominated.  They  had  sprung  into 
existence  during  that  part  of  the  reign  of  James  L  when 
disputes  ran  high  about  kingly  prerogatives  and  popular 
privilege. 

The  Pilgrims,  as  they  styled  themselves,  who  founded 
Plymouth  Colony  in  1620,  had  been  incensed  while  in 
England  by  what  they  stigmatized  as  the  oppressions  of 


382  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  monarchy,  and  the  Established  Church.  They  had 
sought  the  wilds  of  America  for  the  indulgence  of  free 
dom  of  opinion,  and  had  brought  with  them  the  spirit  of 
independence  and  self-government.  Those  who  followed 
them  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  were  imbued  with  the 
same  spirit,  and  gave  a  lasting  character  to  the  people  of 
New  England. 

Other  colonies,  having  been  formed  under  other  cir 
cumstances,  might  be  inclined  toward  a  monarchical  gov 
ernment,  and  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  its  exactions ;  but 
the  republican  spirit  was  ever  alive  in  New  England, 
watching  over  "natural  and  chartered  rights,"  and 
prompt  to  defend  them  against  any  infringement.  Its 
example  and  instigation  had  gradually  an  effect  on  the 
other  colonies;  a  general  impatience  was  evinced  from 
time  to  time  of  parliamentary  interference  in  colonial 
affairs,  and  a  disposition  in  the  various  provincial  legis 
latures  to  think  and  act  for  themselves  in  matters  of  civil 
and  religious,  as  well  as  commercial  polity. 

There  was  nothing,  however,  to  which  the  jealous  sen 
sibilities  of  the  colonies  were  more  alive  than  to  any 
attempt  of  the  mother  country  to  draw  a  revenue  from 
them  by  taxation.  From  the  earliest  period  of  their 
existence,  they  had  maintained  the  principle  that  they 
could  only  be  taxed  by  a  legislature  in  which  they  were 
represented.  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  when  at  the  head  of 
the  British  Government,  was  aware  of  their  jealous  sen 
sibility  on  this  point,  and  cautious  of  provoking  it 


EXCITEMENT  IN  BOSTON.  383 

When  American  taxation  was  suggested,  "it  must  be  a 
bolder  man  than  himself,"  he  replied,  "and  one  less 
friendly  to  commerce,  who  should  venture  on  such  an 
expedient.  For  his  part,  he  would  encourage  the  trade 
of  the  colonies  to  the  utmost;  one  half  of  the  profits 
would  be  sure  to  come  into  the  royal  exchequer  through 
the  increased  demand  for  British  manufactures.  This" 
said  he,  sagaciously,  "  is  taxing  them  more  agreeably  to  their 
own  constitution  and  laws." 

Subsequent  ministers  adopted  a  widely  different  policy. 
During  the  progress  of  the  French  war,  various  projects 
were  discussed  in  England  with  regard  to  the  colonies, 
which  were  to  be  carried  into  effect  on  the  return  of 
peace.  The  open  avowal  of  some  of  these  plans,  and 
vague  rumors  of  others,  more  than  ever  irritated  the 
jealous  feelings  of  the  colonists,  and  put  the  dragon  spirit 
of  New  England  on  the  alert. 

In  1760,  there  was  an  attempt  in  Boston  to  collect 
duties  on  foreign  sugar  and  molasses  imported  into  the 
colonies.  Writs  of  assistance  were  applied  for  by  the 
custom-house  officers,  authorizing  them  to  break  open 
ships,  stores,  and  private  dwellings,  in  quest  of  articles 
that  had  paid  no  duty ;  and  to  call  the  assistance  of  others 
in  the  discharge  of  their  odious  task.  The  merchants 
opposed  the  execution  of  the  writ  on  constitutional 
grounds.  The  question  was  argued  in  court,  where  James 
Otis  spoke  so  eloquently  in  vindication  of  American 
Bights,  that  all  his  hearers  went  away  ready  to  take  arms 


384  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

against  writs  of  assistance.  "  Then  and  there,"  says  JoKn 
Adams,  who  was  present,  "  was  the  first  scene  of  opposi 
tion  to  the  arbitrary  claims  of  Great  Britain.  Then  and 
there  American  Independence  was  born." 

Another  ministerial  measure  was  to  instruct  the  pro 
vincial  governors  to  commission  judges,  not  as  thereto 
fore  "  during  good  behavior,"  but  "  during  the  king's 
pleasure."  New  York  was  the  first  to  resent  this  blow  at 
the  independence  of  the  judiciary.  The  lawyers  appealed 
to  the  public  through  the  press  against  an  act  which 
subjected  the  halls  of  justice  to  the  prerogative.  Their 
appeals  were  felt  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  province,  and 
awakened  a  general  spirit  of  resistance. 

Thus  matters  stood  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war.  One 
of  the  first  measures  of  ministers,  on  the  return  of  peace, 
was  to  enjoin  on  all  naval  officers  stationed  on  the  coasts 
of  the  American  colonies  the  performance,  under  oath, 
of  the  duties  of  custom-house  officers,  for  the  suppression 
of  smuggling.  This  fell  ruinously  upon  a  clandestine 
trade  which  had  long  been  connived  at  between  the 
English  and  Spanish  colonies,  profitable  to  both,  but 
especially  to  the  former,  and  beneficial  to  the  mother 
country,  opening  a  market  to  her  manufactures. 

"Men-of-war,"  says  Burke,  "were  for  the  first  time 
armed  with  the  regular  commissions  of  custom-house 
officers,  invested  the  coasts,  and  gave  the  collection  ot 

revenue  the  air  of  hostile  contribution They  fell  so 

indiscriminately  on  all  sorts  of  contraband,  or  supposed 


TAXATION.  385 

contraband,  that  some  of  the  most  valuable  branches  of 
trade  were  driven  violently  from  our  ports,  which  caused 
an  universal  consternation  throughout  the  colonies."  * 

As  a  measure  of  retaliation,  the  colonists  resolved  not 
to  purchase  British  fabrics,  but  to  clothe  themselves  as 
much  as  possible  in  home  manufactures.  The  demand 
for  British  goods  in  Boston  alone  was  diminished  up 
wards  of  £10,000  sterling  in  the  course  of  a  year. 

In  1764,  George  Grenville,  now  at  the  head  of  govern 
ment,  ventured  upon  the  policy  from  which  Walpole  had 
so  wisely  abstained.  Early  in  March  the  eventful  ques 
tion  was  debated,  "whether  they  had  a  right  to  tax 
America."  It  was  decided  in  the  affirmative.  Next  fol 
lowed  a  resolution,  declaring  it  proper  to  charge  certain 
stamp  duties  in  the  colonies  and  plantations,  but  no 
immediate  step  was  taken  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Mr. 
Grenville,  however,  gave  notice  to  the  American  agents 
in  London,  that  he  should  introduce  such  a  measure  on 
the  ensuing  session  of  Parliament.  In  the  meantime 
Parliament  perpetuated  certain  duties  on  sugar  and  mo 
lasses — heretofore  subjects  of  complaint  and  opposition 
— now  reduced  and  modified  so  as  to  discourage  smug 
gling,  and  thereby  to  render  them  more  productive. 
Duties,  also,  were  imposed  on  other  articles  of  foreign 
produce  or  manufacture  imported  into  the  colonies.  To 
reconcile  the  latter  to  these  impositions,  it  was  stated 

*  Burke  on  the  State  of  the  Nation. 
VOL  i. — 25 


386  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

that  the  revenue  thus  raised  was  to  be  appropriated  to 
their  protection  and  security;  in  other  words,  to  the 
support  of  a  standing  army,  intended  to  be  quartered 
upon  them. 

We  have  here  briefly  stated  but  a  part  of  what  Burke 
terms  an  "infinite  variety  of  paper  chains,"  extending 
through  no  less  than  twenty-nine  acts  of  Parliament, 
from  1660  to  1764,  by  which  the  colonies  had  been  held 
in  thraldom. 

The  New  Englanders  were  the  first  to  take  the  field 
against  th<2  project  of  taxation.  They  denounced  it  as  a 
violation  of  their  rights  as  freemen;  of  their  chartered 
rights,  by  which  they  were  to  tax  themselves  for  their 
support  and  defense  ;  of  their  rights  as  British  subjects, 
who  ought  not  to  be  taxed  but  by  themselves  or  their 
representatives.  They  sent  petitions  and  remonstrances 
on  the  subject  to  the  king,  the  lords,  and  the  commons, 
in  which  they  were  seconded  by  New  York  and  Virginia. 
Franklin  appeared  in  London  at  the  head  of  agents  from 
Pennsylvania,  Connecticut  and  South  Carolina,  to  depre 
cate,  in  person,  measures  so  fraught  with  mischief.  The 
most  eloquent  arguments  were  used  by  British  orators 
and  statesmen  to  dissuade  Grenville  from  enforcing  them. 
He  was  warned  of  the  sturdy  independence  of  the  colo 
nists  and  the  spirit  of  resistance  he  might  provoke.  All 
was  in  vain.  Grenville,  "great  in  daring  and  little  in 
views  "  says  Horace  Walpole,  "  was  charmed  to  have  an 
untrodden  field  before  him  of  calculation  and  experiment. " 


VIRGINIA   RESENTS.  387 

In  March,  1765,  the  act  was  passed,  according  to  which 
all  instruments  in  writing  were  to  be  executed  on  stamped 
paper,  to  be  purchased  from  the  agents  of  the  British 
government.  "What  was  more  :  all  offenses  against  the 
act  could  be  tried  in  any  royal,  marine,  or  admiralty  court 
throughout  the  colonies,  however  distant  from  the  place 
where  the  offense  had  been  committed ;  thus  interfering 
with  that  most  inestimable  right,  a  trial  by  jury. 

It  was  an  ominous  sign  that  the  first  burst  of  opposi 
tion  to  this  act  should  take  place  in  Virginia.  That 
colony  had  hitherto  been  slow  to  accord  with  the  repub 
lican  spirit  of  New  England.  Founded  at  an  earlier 
period  of  the  reign  of  James  I.,  before  kingly  prerogative 
and  ecclesiastical  supremacy  had  been  made  matters  of 
doubt  and  fierce  dispute,  it  had  grown  up  in  loyal  attach 
ment  to  king,  church,  and  constitution;  was  aristocratical 
in  its  tastes  and  habits,  and  had  been  remarked  above  all 
the  other  colonies  for  its  sympathies  with  the  mother 
country.  Moreover,  it  had  not  so  many  pecuniary  inter 
ests  involved  in  these  questions  as  had  the  people  of  New 
England,  being  an  agricultural  rather  than  a  commercial 
province  ;  but  the  Virginians  are  of  a  quick  and  generous 
spirit,  readily  aroused  on  all  points  of  honorable  pride, 
and  they  resented  the  stamp  act  as  an  outrage  on  their 
rights. 

Washington  occupied  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses,  when,  on  the  29th  of  May,  the  stamp  act  became 
a  subject  of  discussion.  We  have  seen  no  previous  opin- 


388  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ions  of  his  on  the  subject.  His  correspondence  hitherto 
had  not  turned  on  political  or  speculative  themes ;  being 
engrossed  by  either  military  or  agricultural  matters,  and 
evincing  little  anticipation  of  the  vortex  of  public  duties 
into  which  he  was  about  to  be  drawn.  All  his  previous 
conduct  and  writings  show  a  loyal  devotion  to  the  crown, 
with  a  patriotic  attachment  to  his  country.  It  is  probable 
that  on  the  present  occasion  that  latent  patriotism  re 
ceived  its  first  electric  shock. 

Among  the  burgesses  sat  Patrick  Henry,  a  young  law 
yer  who  had  recently  distinguished  himself  by  pleading 
against  the  exercise  of  the  royal  prerogative  in  church 
matters,  and  who  was  now  for  the  first  time  a  member  of 
the  House.  Rising  in  his  place,  he  introduced  his  cele 
brated  resolutions,  declaring  that  the  General  Assembly  of 
Virginia  had  the  exclusive  right  and  power  to  lay  taxes 
and  impositions  upon  the  inhabitants,  and  that  whoever 
maintained  the  contrary  should  be  deemed  an  enemy  to 
the  colony. 

The  Speaker,  Mr.  Robinson,  objected  to  the  resolutions, 
as  inflammatory.  Henry  vindicated  them,  as  justified  by 
the  nature  of  the  case ;  went  into  an  able  and  constitu 
tional  discussion  of  colonial  rights,  and  an  eloquent  ex 
position  of  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been  assailed ; 
wound  up  by  one  of  those  daring  flights  of  declamation 
for  which  he  was  remarkable,  and  startled  the  House  by 
a  warning  flash  from  history :  "  Caesar  had  his  Brutus, 
Charles  his  Cromwell,  and  George  the  Third — ('  Treason  ! 


PATRICK  HENRY'S  RESOLUTIONS.  389 

treason ! '  resounded  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Chair) 
— may  profit  by  their  examples,"  added  Henry.  "  Sir,  i| 
this  be  treason  (bowing  to  the  Speaker),  make  the  most 
of  it!" 

The  resolutions  were  modified,  to  accommodate  them 
to  the  scruples  of  the  Speaker  and  some  of  the  members, 
but  their  spirit  was  retained.  The  Lieutenant-governor 
(Fauquier),  startled  by  this  patriotic  outbreak,  dissolved 
the  Assembly,  and  issued  writs  for  a  new  election ;  but 
the  clarion  had  sounded.  "  The  resolves  of  the  Assem 
bly  of  Virginia,"  says  a  correspondent  of  the  ministry, 
"  gave  the  signal  for  a  general  outcry  over  the  continent. 
The  movers  and  supporters  of  them  were  applauded  as 
the  protectors  and  asserters  of  American  liberty."  * 

*  Letter  to  Secretary  Conway,  New  York,  Sept.  23.  Parliamentary 
Register. 


CHAPTEK  XXYTTL 


WASHINGTON'S  IDEAS  CONCERNING  THE  STAMP  ACT.— OPPOSITION  TO  IT  i» 

THB  COLONIES. —PORTENTOUS  CEREMONIES  AT  BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK, 
—NON-IMPORTATION  AGREEMENT  AMONG  THE  MERCHANTS.— WASHINGTON 
AND  GEORGE  MASON. — DISMISSAL  OF  GRENVILLE  FROM  THE  BRITISH 
CABINET. — i'RAWKLIN  BEFORE  THE  HOUSE  OF  COMMONS. — REPEAL  OF  THH 
STAMP  ACT.-- JOY  OF  WASHINGTON.— FRESH  CAUSES  OF  COLONIAL  DISSEN 
SIONS.— CIRCULAR  OF  THE  GENERAL  COURT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.— EMBAR 
KATION  OF  TROOPS  FOR  BOSTON. — MEASURES  OF  THE  BOSTONIANS. 


ASHINGTON  returned  to  Mount  Vernon  full 
of  anxious  thoughts  inspired  by  the  political 
events  of  the  day,  and  the  legislative  scene 
which  he  witnessed.  His  recent  letters  had  spoken  of 
the  state  of  peaceful  tranquillity  in  which  he  was  living  ; 
those  now  written  from  his  rural  home  show  that  he  fully 
participated  in  the  popular  feeling,  and  that  while  he  had 
a  presentiment  of  an  arduous  struggle,  his  patriotic  mind 
was  revolving  means  of  coping  with  it.  Such  is  the  tenor 
of  a  letter  written  to  his  wife's  uncle,  Francis  Dandridge, 
then  in  London.  "  The  stamp  act,"  said  he,  "engrosses 
the  conversation  of  the  speculative  part  of  the  colonists, 
who  look  upon  this  unconstitutional  method  of  taxation 
as  a  direful  attack  upon  their  liberties,  and  loudly  exclaira 

390 


WASHINGTON  ON  THE  STAMP  ACT.  39? 

against  the  violation.  What  may  be  the  result  of  this, 
and  of  some  other  (I  think  I  may  add  ill-judged)  meas 
ures,  I  will  not  undertake  to  determine ;  but  this  I  may 
venture  to  affirm,  that  the  advantage  accruing  to  the 
mother  country  will  fall  greatly  short  of  the  expectation 
of  the  ministry ;  for  certain  it  is,  that  our  whole  substance 
already  in  a  manner  flows  to  Great  Britain,  and  that  what 
soever  contributes  to  lessen  our  importations  must  bo 
hurtful  to  her  manufactures.  The  eyes  of  our  people 
already  begin  to  be  opened  ;  and  they  will  perceive  that 
many  luxuries,  for  which  we  lavish  our  substance  in 
Great  Britain,  can  well  be  dispensed  with.  This,  conse 
quently,  will  introduce  frugality,  and  be  a  necessary  in 
citement  to  industry As  to  the  stamp  act, 

regarded  in  a  single  view,  one  of  the  first  bad  conse 
quences  attending  it,  is,  that  our  courts  of  judicature 
must  inevitably  be  shut  up  ;  for  it  is  impossible,  or  next 
to  impossible,  under  our  present  circumstances,  that  the 
act  of  Parliament  can  be  complied  with,  were  we  ever  so 
willing  to  enforce  its  execution.  And  not  to  say  (which 
alone  would  be  sufficient)  that  we  have  not  money  enough 
to  pay  for  the  stamps,  there  are  many  other  cogent  rea 
sons  which  prove  that  it  would  be  ineffectual." 

A  letter  of  the  same  date  to  his  agents  in  London,  of 
ample  length  and  minute  in  its  details,  shows  that,  while 
deeply  interested  in  the  course  of  public  affairs,  his  prac 
tical  mind  was  enabled  thoroughly  and  ably  to  manage 
the  financial  concerns  of  his  estate  and  of  the  estate 


392  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  Mrs.  Washington's  son,  John  Parke  Custis,  towards 
whom  he  acted  the  part  of  a  faithful  and  affectionate 
guardian.  In  those  days,  Virginia  planters  were  still  in 
direct  and  frequent  correspondence  with  their  London 
factors;  and  Washington's  letters  respecting  his  ship 
ments  of  tobacco,  and  the  returns  required  in  various 
articles  for  household  and  personal  use,  are  perfect 
models  for  a  man  of  business.  And  this  may  be  re 
marked  throughout  his  whole  career,  that  no  pressure  of 
events  nor  multiplicity  of  cares  prevented  a  clear,  stead 
fast,  under-current  of  attention  to  domestic  affairs,  and 
the  interest  and  well-being  of  all  dependent  upon  him. 

In  the  meantime,  from  his  quiet  abode  at  Mount  Ver- 
non,  he  seemed  to  hear  the  patriotic  voice  of  Patrick 
Henry,  which  had  startled  the  House  of  Burgesses,  echo 
ing  throughout  the  land,  and  rousing  one  legislative  body 
after  another  to  follow  the  example  of  that  of  Virginia. 
At  the  instigation  of  the  General  Court  or  Assembly  of 
Massachusetts,  a  Congress  was  held  in  New  York  in  Oc 
tober,  composed  of  delegates  from  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  and  South  Carolina.  In  this  they 
denounced  the  acts  of  Parliament  imposing  taxes  on  them 
without  their  consent,  and  extending  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  courts  of  admiralty,  as  violations  of  their  rights  and 
liberties  as  natural-born  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and 
prepared  an  address  to  the  king,  and  a  petition  to  both 
Houses  of  Parliament,  praying  for  redress.  Similar  peti- 


DEFIANCE  OF  THE  STAMP  ACT.  393 

tions  were  forwarded   to  England  by  the  colonies   not 
represented  in  the  Congress. 

The  very  preparations  for  enforcing  the  stamp  act 
called  forth  popular  tumults  in  various  places.  In  Boston 
the  stamp  distributer  was  hanged  in  effigy ;  his  windows 
were  broken;  a  house  intended  for  a  stamp  office  was 
pulled  down,  and  the  effigy  burnt  in  a  bonfire  made  of  the 
fragments.  The  lieutenant-governor,  chief-justice,  and 
sheriff,  attempting  to  allay  the  tumult,  were  pelted.  The 
stamp  officer  thought  himself  happy  to  be  hanged  merely 
in  effigy,  and  next  day  publicly  renounced  the  perilous 
office. 

Various  were  the  proceedings  in  othi,r  places,  all  mani 
festing  public  scorn  and  defiance  of  the  act.  In  Virginia, 
Mr.  George  Mercer  had  been  appointed  distributer  of 
stamps,  but  on  his  arrival  at  Willi*imsburg  publicly  de 
clined  officiating.  It  was  a  fresh  triumph  to  the  popular 
cause.  The  bells  were  rung  for  joy  ;  the  town  was  illumi 
nated,  and  Mercer  was  hailed  with  acclamations  of  the 
people.* 

The  1st  of  November,  the  da}  when  the  act  was  to  go 
into  operation,  was  ushered  in  with  portentous  solemni 
ties.  There  was  great  tolling  of  bells  and  burning  of 
effigies  in  the  New  England  colonies.  At  Boston  the 
ships  displayed  their  colors,  but  half-mast  high.  Many 
shops  were  shut;  funeral  knells  resounded  from  the 

*  Holmes's  Annals,  vol.  ii.  p.  138. 


394  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

steeples,  and  there  was  a  grand  auto-da-fe,  in  which  the 
promoters  of  the  act  were  paraded,  and  suffered  martyr 
dom  in  effigy. 

At  New  York  the  printed  act  was  carried  about  the 
streets  on  a  pole,  surmounted  by  a  death's  head,  with  a 
scroll  bearing  the  inscription,  "  The  folly  of  England  and 
ruin  of  America."  Golden,  the  lieutenant-governor,  who 
acquired  considerable  odium  by  recommending  to  gov 
ernment  the  taxation  of  the  colonies,  the  institution  of 
hereditary  Assemblies,  and  other  Tory  measures,  seeing 
that  a  popular  storm  was  rising,  retired  into  the  fort, 
taking  with  him  the  stamp  papers,  and  garrisoned  it  with 
marines  from  a  ship  of  war.  The  mob  broke  into  his 
stable ;  drew  out  his  chariot ;  put  his  effigy  into  it ;  pa 
raded  it  through  the  streets  to  the  common  (now  the 
Park),  where  they  hung  it  on  a  gallows.  In  the  evening 
it  was  taken  down,  put  again  into  the  chariot,  with  the 
devil  for  a  companion,  and  escorted  back  by  torchlight  to 
the  Bowling  Green;  where  the  whole  pageant,  chariot 
and  all,  was  burnt  under  the  very  guns  of  the  fort. 

These  are  specimens  of  the  marks  of  popular  repro 
bation  with  which  the  stamp  act  was  universally  nulli 
fied.  No  one  would  venture  to  carry  it  into  execution. 
In  fact  no  stamped  paper  was  to  be  seen ;  all  had  been 
either  destroyed  or  concealed.  All  transactions  which 
required  stamps  to  give  them  validity  were  suspended,  or 
were  executed  by  private  compact.  The  courts  of  justice 
were  closed,  until  at  length  some  conducted  their  busi- 


WASHINGTON  AND  GEORGE  MASON.  395 

ness  without  stamps.  Union  was  Incoming  the  watch 
word.  The  merchants  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Bos 
ton,  and  such  other  colonies  as  had  ventured  publicly  to 
oppose  the  stamp  act,  agreed  to  import  no  more  British 
manufactures  after  the  1st  of  January  unless  it  should  be 
repealed.  So  passed  away  the  year  1765. 

As  yet  Washington  took  no  prominent  part  in  the  pub 
lic  agitation.  Indeed  he  was  never  disposed  to  put  him 
self  forward  on  popular  occasions,  his  innate  modesty 
forbade  it ;  it  was  others  who  knew  his  worth  that  called 
him  forth;  but  when  once  he  engaged  in  any  public 
measure,  he  devoted  himself  to  it  with  conscientiousness 
and  persevering  zeal.  At  present  he  remained  a  quiet 
but  vigilant  observer  of  events  from  his  eagle  nest  at 
Mount  Yernon.  He  had  some  few  intimates  in  his  neigh 
borhood  who  accorded  with  him  in  sentiment.  One  of 
the  ablest  and  most  efficient  of  these  was  Mr.  George 
Mason,  with  whom  he  had  occasional  conversations  on 
the  state  of  affairs.  His  friends  the  Fairfaxes,  though 
liberal  in  feelings  and  opinions,  were  too  strong  in  their 
devotion  to  the  crown  not  to  regard  with  an  uneasy  eye 
the  tendency  of  the  popular  bias.  From  one  motive  or 
other,  the  earnest  attention  of  all  the  inmates  and  visitors 
at  Mount  Vernon,  was  turned  to  England,  watching  the 
movements  of  the  ministry. 

The  dismissal  of  Mr.  Grenville  from  the  cabinet  gave 
a  temporary  change  to  public  affairs.  Perhaps  nothing 
had  a  greater  effect  in  favor  of  the  colonies  than  an  ex- 


396  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

amination  of  Dr.  Franklin  before  the  House  of  Commons, 
on  the  subject  of  the  stamp  act. 

"  What,"  he  was  asked,  "  was  the  temper  of  America 
towards  Great  Britain,  before  the  year  1763?" 

"  The  best  in  the  world.  They  submitted  willingly  to 
the  government  of  the  crown,  and  paid,  in  all  their  courts, 
obedience  to  the  acts  of  Parliament.  Numerous  as  the 
people  are  in  the  several  old  provinces,  they  cost  you 
nothing  in  forts,  citadels,  garrisons,  or  armies,  to  keep 
fchem  in  subjection.  They  were  governed  by  this  coun 
try  at  the  expense  only  of  a  little  pen,  and  ink,  and 
paper.  They  were  led  by  a  thread.  They  had  not  only 
a  respect,  but  an  affection  for  Great  Britain,  for  its  laws, 
its  customs,  and  manners,  and  even  a  fondness  for  its 
fashions,  that  greatly  increased  the  commerce.  Natives 
of  Great  Britain  were  always  treated  with  particular  re 
gard  ;  to  be  an  Old-England  man  was,  of  itself,  a  char 
acter  of  some  respect,  and  gave  a  kind  of  rank  among 
us." 

"  And  what  is  their  temper  now  ?  " 

"0!  very  much  altered." 

"  If  the  act  is  not  repealed,  what  do  you  think  will  be 
the  consequences?" 

"A  total  loss  of  the  respect  and  affection  the  people  of 
America  bear  to  this  country,  and  of  all  the  commerce 
that  depends  on  that  respect  and  affection." 

"Do  you  think  the  people  of  America  would  submit  to 
pay  the  stamp  duty  if  it  was  moderated  ?  " 


REPEAL   OF  THE  STAMP  ACT.  397 

"No,  never,  unless  compelled  by  force  of  arms."  * 

The  act  was  repealed  on  the  18th  of  March,  1766,  to 
the  great  joy  of  the  sincere  friends  of  both  countries,, 
and  to  no  one  more  than  to  Washington.  In  one  of  his 
letters  he  observes :  "  Had  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain  resolved  upon  enforcing  it,  the  consequences,  I 
conceive,  would  have  been  more  direful  than  is  generally 
apprehended,  both  to  the  mother  country  and  her  col 
onies.  All,  therefore,  who  were  instrumental  in  procur 
ing  the  repeal,  are  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  every  British 
subject,  and  have  mine  cordially."  t 

Still  there  was  a  fatal  clause  in  the  repeal,  which  de 
clared  that  the  king,  with  the  consent  of  Parliament,  had 
power  and  authority  to  make  laws  and  statutes  of  suffi 
cient  force  and  validity  to  "  bind  the  colonies,  and  people 
of  America,  in  all  cases  whatsoever." 

As  the  people  of  America  were  contending  for  princi 
ples,  not  mere  pecuniary  interests,  this  reserved  power 
of  the  crown  and  Parliament  left  the  dispute  still  open, 
and  chilled  the  feeling  of  gratitude  which  the  repeal 
might  otherwise  have  inspired.  Further  aliment  for 
public  discontent  was  furnished  by  other  acts  of  parlia 
ment.  One  imposed  duties  on  glass,  pasteboard,  white 
and  red  lead,  painters'  colors,  and  tea ;  the  duties  to  be 
collected  on  the  arrival  of  the  articles  in  the  colonies ; 
another  empowered  naval  officers  to  enforce  the  acts  of 

*  Parliamentary  Register,  1766. 

f  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington,  ii.  345,  note. 


398  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

trade  and  navigation.  Another  wounded  to  the  quick 
the  pride  and  sensibilities  of  New  York.  The  mutiny  act 
had  recently  been  extended  to  America,  with  an  ad 
ditional  clause,  requiring  the  provincial  assemblies  to 
provide  the  troops  sent  out  with  quarters,  and  to  furnish 
them  with  fire,  beds,  candles,  and  other  necessaries,  at 
the  expense  of  the  colonies.  The  governor  and  Assem 
bly  of  New  York  refused  to  comply  with  this  requisition 
as  to  stationary  forces,  insisting  that  it  applied  only  to 
troops  on  a  march.  An  act  of  Parliament  now  suspended 
the  powers  of  the  governor  and  Assembly  until  they 
should  comply.  Chatham  attributed  this  opposition  of 
the  colonists  to  the  mutiny  act  to  "their  jealousy  of 
being  somehow  or  other  taxed  internally  by  the  Parlia 
ment  ;  the  act,"  said  he,  "  asserting  the  right  of  Parlia 
ment,  has  certainly  spread  a  most  unfortunate  jealousy 
and  diffidence  of  government  here  throughout  America, 
and  makes  them  jealous  of  the  least  distinction  between 
this  country  and  that,  lest  the  same  principle  may  be 
extended  to  taxing  them."  * 

Boston  continued  to  be  the  focus  of  what  the  minis 
terialists  termed  sedition.  The  General  Court  of  Massa 
chusetts,  not  content  with  petitioning  the  king  for  relief 
against  the  recent  measures  of  Parliament,  especially 
those  imposing  taxes  as  a  means  of  revenue,  drew  up  a 
circular,  calling  on  the  other  colonial  legislatures  to  join 

*  Chatham's  Correspondence,  vol.  iii.  pp.  186-193. 


MEMORIALS  AGAINST  TAXATION.  399 

with  them  in  suitable  efforts  to  obtain  redress.  In  the 
ensuing  session,  Governor  Sir  Francis  Bernard  called 
upon  them  to  rescind  the  resolution  on  which  the  cir 
cular  was  founded, — they  refused  to  comply,  and  the 
General  Court  was  consequently  dissolved.  The  govern 
ors  of  other  colonies  required  of  their  legislatures  an 
assurance  that  they  would  not  reply  to  the  Massachusetts 
circular, — these  legislatures  likewise  refused  compliance* 
and  were  dissolved.  All  this  added  to  the  growing  excite 
ment. 

Memorials  were  addressed  to  the  lords,  spiritual  and 
temporal,  and  remonstrances  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
against  taxation  for  revenue,  as  destructive  to  the  liber 
ties  of  the  colonists;  and  against  the  act  suspending  the 
legislative  power  of  the  province  of  New  York,  as  men 
acing  the  welfare  of  the  colonies  in  general. 

Nothing,  however,  produced  a  more  powerful  effect 
upon  the  public  sensibilities  throughout  the  country, 
than  certain  military  demonstrations  at  Boston.  In  con 
sequence  of  repeated  collisions  between  the  people  of 
that  place  and  the  commissioners  of  customs,  two  regi 
ments  were  held  in  readiness  at  Halifax  to  embark  for 
Boston  in  the  ships  of  Commodore  Hood  whenever 
Governor  Bernard,  or  the  general,  should  give  the 
word.  "  Had  this  force  been  landed  in  Boston  six  months 
ago,"  writes  the  commodore,  "I  am  perfectly  per 
suaded  no  address  or  remonstrances  would  have  been 
sent  from  the  other  colonies,  and  that  all  would  have 


400  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

been  tolerably  quiet  and  orderly  at  this  time  through* 
out  America."* 

Tidings  reached  Boston  that  these  troops  were  em 
barked  and  that  they  were  coming  to  overawe  the  people. 
What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  General  Court  had  been  dis 
solved,  and  the  governor  refused  to  convene  it  without 
the  royal  command.  A  convention,  therefore,  from  vari 
ous  towns  met  at  Boston,  on  the  22d  of  September,  to 
devise  measures  for  the  public  safety ;  buf  disclaiming  all 
pretensions  to  legislative  powers.  While  the  convention 
was  yet  in  session  (September  28th),  the  two  regiments 
arrived,  with  seven  armed  vessels.  "I  am  very  confident," 
writes  Commodore  Hood  from  Halifax,  "  the  spirited 
measures  now  pursuing  will  soon  effect  order  in  America." 

On  the  contrary,  these  "  spirited  measures "  added 
fuel  to  the  fire  they  were  intended  to  quench.  It  was 
resolved  in  a  town  meeting  that  the  king  had  no  right  to 
send  troops  thither  without  the  consent  of  the  Assembly ; 
that  Great  Britain  had  broken  the  original  compact,  and 
that,  therefore,  the  king's  officers  had  no  longer  any  bus 
iness  there,  t 

The  "  selectmen  "  accordingly  refused  to  find  quarters 
for  the  soldiers  in  the  town ;  the  council  refused  to  find 
barracks  for  them,  lest  it  should  be  construed  into  a 
compliance  with  the  disputed  clause  of  the  mutiny  act. 
Some  of  the  troops,  therefore,  which  had  tents,  were 

*  Orenville  Papers,  vol.  iv.  p.  362. 

f  Whately  to  Grenville.     Gren.  Papers,  vol.  iv.  p.  389. 


INDIGNATION.  401 

encamped  on  the  common;  others,  by  the  governor's 
orders,  were  quartered  in  the  state-house,  and  others  in 
Faneuil  Hall,  to  the  great  indignation  of  the  public,  who 
were  grievously  scandalized  at  seeing  field-pieces  planted 
in  front  of  the  state-house ;  sentinels  stationed  at  the 
doors,  challenging  every  one  who  passed ;  and,  above  all, 
at  having  the  sacred  quiet  of  the  Sabbath  disturbed  b;y 
drum  and  fife,  and  other  military  music. 
VOL  i.— 26 


CHAPTEE  XXIX. 


CHIERFTJL  LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VEKNON.  —  WASHINGTON  AND  GEORGE  MASON.— 
CORRESPONDENCE  CONCERNING  THE  NON-IMPORTATION  AGREEMENT.— FEEL 
ING  TOWARD  ENGLAND. — OPENING  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  SESSION.— SEMI- 
REGAL  STATE  OF  LORD  BOTETOURT.  —  HIGH-TONED  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 
HOUSE. — SYMPATHY  WITH  NEW  ENGLAND. — DISSOLVED  BY  LORD  BOTETOURT. 
— WASHINGTON  AND  THE  ARTICLES  OF  ASSOCIATION. 


HKOUGHOUT  these  public  agitations,  Wash 
ington  endeavored  to  preserve  his  equanimity. 
Bemoved  from  the  heated  throngs  of  cities,  his 
diary  denotes  a  cheerful  and  healthful  life  at  Mount 
Vernon,  devoted  to  those  rural  occupations  in  which  he 
delighted,  and  varied  occasionally  by  his  favorite  field 
sports.  Sometimes  he  is  duck-shooting  on  the  Potomac. 
Repeatedly  we  find  note  of  his  being  out  at  sunrise  with 
the  hounds,  in  company  with  old  Lord  Fairfax,  Bryan 
Fairfax,  and  others ;  and  ending  the  day's  sport  by  a 
dinner  at  Mount  Vernon,  or  Belvoir. 

Still  he  was  too  true  a  patriot  not  to  sympathize  in  the 
struggle  for  colonial  rights  which  now  agitated  the  whole 
country,  and  we  find  him  gradually  carried  more  and 
more  into  the  current  of  political  affairs. 

A  letter  written  on  the  5th  of  April,  1769,  to  his  friend, 

402 


LETTER  TO   GEORGE  MASON.  403 

George  Mason,  shows  the  important  stand  he  was  dis 
posed  to  take.  In  the  previous  year,  the  merchants  and 
traders  of  Boston,  Salem,  Connecticut,  and  New  York, 
had  agreed  to  suspend  for  a  time  the  importation  of  all 
articles  subject  to  taxation.  Similar  resolutions  had  re 
cently  been  adopted  by  the  merchants  of  Philadelphia. 
"Washington's  letter  is  emphatic  in  support  of  the  meas 
ure.  "  At  a  time,"  writes  he,  "  when  our  lordly  masters 
in  Great  Britain  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than 
the  deprivation  of  American  freedom,  it  seems  highly 
necessary  that  something  should  be  done  to  avert  the 
stroke,  and  maintain  the  liberty  which  we  have  derived 
from  our  ancestors.  But  the  manner  of  doing  it,  to  an 
swer  the  purpose  effectually,  is  the  point  in  question. 
That  no  man  should  scruple,  or  hesitate  a  moment  in 
defense  of  so  valuable  a  blessing,  is  clearly  my  opinion ; 
yet  arms  should  be  the  last  resource — the  dernier  ressort. 
We  have  already,  it  is  said,  proved  the  ineflicacy  of  ad 
dresses  to  the  throne,  and  remonstrances  to  Parliament. 
How  far  their  attention  to  our  rights  and  interests  is  to 
be  awakened,  or  alarmed,  by  starving  their  trade  and 
manufactures,  remains  to  be  tried. 

"The  northern  colonies,  it  appears,  are  endeavoring 
to  adopt  this  scheme.  In  my  opinion,  it  is  a  good  one, 
and  must  be  attended  with  salutary  effects,  provided  it 

can  be  carried  pretty  generally  into  execution 

That  there  will  be  a  difficulty  attending  it  everywhere 
from  clashing  interests,  and  selfish,  designing  men,  ever 


404  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

attentive  to  their  own  gain  and  watchful  of  every  turn 
that  can  assist  their  lucrative  views,  cannot  be  denied,  and 
in  the  tobacco  colonies,  where  the  trade  is  so  diffused, 
and  in  a  manner  wholly  conducted  by  factors  for  their 
principals  at  home,  these  difficulties  are  certainly  en 
hanced,  but  I  think  not  insurmountably  increased,  if  the 
gentlemen  in  their  several  counties  will  be  at  some  pains 
to  explain  matters  to  the  people,  and  stimulate  them  to 
cordial  agreements  to  purchase  none  but  certain  enumer 
ated  articles  out  of  any  of  the  stores,  after  a  definite 
period,  and  neither  import,  nor  purchase  any  themselves. 
....  I  can  see  but  one  class  of  people,  the  merchants 
excepted,  who  will  not,  or  ought  not,  to  wish  well  to  the 
scheme, — namely,  they  who  live  genteelly  and  hospitably 
on  clear  estates.  Such  as  these,  were  they  not  to  con 
sider  the  valuable  object  in  view,  and  the  good  of  others, 
might  think  it  hard  to  be  curtailed  in  their  living  and 
enjoyments." 

This  was  precisely  the  class  to  which  Washington  be 
longed  ;  but  he  was  ready  and  willing  to  make  the  sacri 
fices  required.  "  I  think  the  scheme  a  good  one,"  added 
he,  "  and  that  it  ought  to  be  tried  here,  with  such  alter 
ations  as  our  circumstances  render  absolutely  necessary." 

Mason,  in  his  reply,  concurred  with  him  in  opinion. 
"Our  all  is  at  stake,"  said  he,  "and  the  little  conve 
niences  and  comforts  of  life,  when  set  in  competition  with 
our  liberty,  ought  to  be  rejected,  not  with  reluctance,  but 
with  pleasure.  Yet  it  is  plain  that,  in  the  tobacco  colo- 


MASON'S  LETTER  ON  NON-IMPORTATION.        405 

nies,  we  cannot  at  present  confine  our  importations 
within  such  narrow  bounds  as  the  northern  colonies.  A 
plan  of  this  kind,  to  be  practicable,  must  be  adapted  to 
our  circumstances ;  for,  if  not  steadily  executed,  it  had 
better  have  remained  unattempted.  We  may  retrench  all 
manner  of  superfluities,  finery  of  all  descriptions,  and 
confine  ourselves  to  linens,  woolens,  etc.,  not  exceeding  a 
certain  price.  It  is  amazing  how  much  this  practice,  if 
adopted  in  all  the  colonies,  would  lessen  the  American 
imports,  and  distress  the  various  trades  and  manufac 
tures  of  Great  Britain.  This  would  awaken  their  atten 
tion.  They  would  see,  they  would  feel  the  oppressions 
we  groan  under,  and  exert  themselves  to  procure  us  re 
dress.  This,  once  obtained,  we  should  no  longer  discon 
tinue  our  importations,  confining  ourselves  still  not  to 
import  any  article  that  should  hereafter  be  taxed  by  act 
of  Parliament  for  raising  a  revenue  in  America;  for, 
however  singular  I  may  be  in  the  opinion,  /  am  thor 
oughly  convinced,  that,  justice  and  harmony  happily  restored, 
it  is  not  the  interest  of  these  colonies  to  refuse  British  manu 
factures.  Our  supplying  our  mother  country  with  gross  ma 
terials,  and  taking  her  manufactures  in  return,  is  the  true 
chain  of  connection  between  us.  These  are  the  bands  which, 
if  not  broken  by  oppression,  must  long  hold  us  together,  by 
maintaining  a  constant  reciprocation  of  interests." 

The  latter  part  of  the  above  quotation  shows  the 
spirit  which  actuated  Washington  and  the  friends  of  his 
confidence ;  as  yet  there  was  no  thought  nor  desire  of 


406  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

alienation  from  the  mother  country,  but  only  a  fixed 
determination  to  be  placed  on  an  equality  of  rights  and 
privileges  with  her  other  children. 

A  single  word  in  the  passage  cited  from  Washington's 
letter,  evinces  the  chord  which  still  vibrated  in  the  Amer 
ican  bosom :  he  incidentally  speaks  of  England  as  home. 
It  was  the  familiar  term  with  which  she  was  usually  in 
dicated  by  those  of  English  descent;  and  the  writer  of 
these  pages  remembers  when  the  endearing  phrase  still 
lingered  on  Anglo-American  lips  even  after  the  Revolu 
tion.  How  easy  would  it  have  been  before  that  era  for 
the  mother  country  to  have  rallied  back  the  affections  of 
her  colonial  children,  by  a  proper  attention  to  their  com 
plaints  !  They  asked  for  nothing  but  what  they  were 
entitled  to,  and  what  she  had  taught  them  to  prize  as 
their  dearest  inheritance.  The  spirit  of  liberty  which 
they  manifested  had  been  derived  from  her  own  precept 
and  example. 

The  result  of  the  correspondence  between  Washington 
and  Mason  was  the  draft  by  the  latter  of  a  plan  of  asso 
ciation,  the  members  of  which  were  to  pledge  themselves 
not  to  import  or  use  any  articles  of  British  merchandise 
or  manufacture  subject  to  duty.  This  paper  Washington 
was  to  submit  to  the  consideration  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses,  at  the  approaching  session  in  the  month  of  May. 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  opened  on  this  occasion 
with  a  brilliant  pageant.  While  military  force  was  ar 
rayed  to  overawe  the  republican  Puritans  of  the  east,  it 


LORD   BOTETOURT.  407 

was  thought  to  dazzle  the  aristocratical  descendants  of 
the  cavaliers  by  the  reflex  of  regal  splendor.  Lord  Bote- 
tourt,  one  of  the  king's  lords  of  the  bed-chamber,  had 
recently  come  out  as  governor  of  the  province.  Junius 
described  him  as  "  a  cringing,  bowing,  fawning,  sword- 
bearing  courtier."  Horace  Walpole  predicted  that  he 
would .  turn  the  heads  of  the  Virginians  in  one  way  or 
other.  "  If  his  graces  do  not  captivate  them  he  will 
enrage  them  to  fury ;  for  I  take  all  his  douceur  to  be 
enameled  on  iron."  *  The  words  of  political  satirists  and 
court  wits,  however,  are  always  to  be  taken  with  great 
distrust.  However  his  lordship  may  have  bowed  in  pres 
ence  of  royalty,  he  elsewhere  conducted  himself  with 
dignity,  and  won  general  favor  by  his  endearing  manners. 
He  certainly  showed  promptness  of  spirit  in  his  reply  to 
the  king  on  being  informed  of  his  appointment.  "When 
will  you  be  ready  to  go?  "  asked  George  III.  " To-night, 
sir." 

He  had  come  out,  however,  with  a  wrong  idea  of  the 
Americans.  They  had  been  represented  to  him  as  fac 
tious,  immoral,  and  prone  to  sedition ;  but  vain  and  lux 
urious,  and  easily  captivated  by  parade  and  splendor. 
The  latter  foibles  were  aimed  at  in  his  appointment  and 
fitting  out.  It  was  supposed  that  his  titled  rank  would 
have  its  effect.  Then  to  prepare  him  for  occasions  of 
ceremony,  a  coach  of  state  was  presented  to  him  by  the 

*  Grenville  Papers,  iv.  note  to  p.  330. 


4:08  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

king.  He  was  allowed,  moreover,  the  quantity  of  plate 
usually  given  to  ambassadors,  whereupon  the  joke  was 
circulated  that  he  was  going  "  plenipo  to  the  Chero- 
kees."  * 

His  opening  of  the  session  was  in  the  style  of  the  royal 
opening  of  Parliament.  He  proceeded  in  due  parade 
from  his  dwelling  to  the  capitol,  in  his  state  coach,  drawn 
by  six  milk-white  horses.  Having  delivered  his  speech 
according  to  royal  form,  he  returned  home  with  the  same 
pomp  and  circumstance. 

The  time  had  gone  by,  however,  for  such  display  to 
have  the  anticipated  effect.  The  Virginian  legislators 
penetrated  the  intention  of  this  pompous  ceremonial,  and 
regarded  it  with  a  depreciating  smile.  Sterner  matters 
occupied  their  thoughts  ;  they  had  come  prepared  to 
battle  for  their  rights,  and  their  proceedings  soon  showed 
Lord  Botetourt  how  much  he  had  mistaken  them.  Spir 
ited  resolutions  were  passed,  denouncing  the  recent  act 
of  Parliament  imposing  taxes  ;  the  power  to  do  which,  on 
the  inhabitants  of  this  colony,  "  was  legally  arid  consti 
tutionally  vested  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  with  consent 
of  the  council  and  of  the  king,  or  of  his  governor  for  the 
time  being."  Copies  of  these  resolutions  were  ordered 
to  be  forwarded  by  the  speaker  to  the  legislatures  of  the 
other  colonies,  with  a  request  for  their  concurrence. 

Other  proceedings  of  the  burgesses  showed  their  sym* 

*  Whately  to  Qeo.  Grenville.     Qrenville  Papers. 


ADDRESS  TO   THE  KING.  409 

pathy  with  their  fellow-patriots  of  New  England.  A  joint 
address  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament  had  recently  been 
made  to  the  king,  assuring  him  of  their  support  in  any 
further  measures  for  the  due  execution  of  the  laws  in 
Massachusetts,  and  beseeching  him  that  all  persons 
charged  with  treason,  or  misprision  of  treason,  committed 
within  that  colony  since  the  30th  qf  December,  1767, 
might  be  sent  to  Great  Britain  for  trial. 

As  Massachusetts  had  no  General  Assembly  at  this 
time,  having  been  dissolved  by  government,  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Virginia  generously  took  up  the  cause.  An  ad 
dress  to  the  king  was  resolved  on,  stating  that  all  trials 
for  treason,  or  misprision  of  treason,  or  for  any  crime 
whatever  committed  by  any  person  residing  in  a  colony, 
ought  to  be  in  and  before  His  Majesty's  courts  within 
said  colony ;  and  beseeching  the  king  to  avert  from  his 
loyal  subjects  those  dangers  and  miseries  which  would 
ensue  from  seizing  and  carrying  beyond  sea  any  person 
residing  in  America  suspected  of  any  crime  whatever, 
thereby  depriving  them  of  the  inestimable  privilege  of 
being  tried  by  a  jury  from  the  vicinage,  as  well  as  the 
liberty  of  producing  witnesses  on  such  trial. 

Disdaining  any  further  application  to  Parliament,  the 
House  ordered  the  speaker  to  transmit  this  address  to 
the  colonies'  agent  in  England,  with  directions  to  cause 
it  to  be  presented  to  the  king,  and  afterwards  to  be 
printed  and  published  in  the  English  papers. 

Lord  Botetourt  was   astonished  and   dismayed  when 


410  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

he  heard  of  these  high-toned  proceedings.  Repairing  to 
the  capitol  next  day  at  noon,  he  summoned  the  speaker 
and  members  to  the  council  chamber  and  addressed  them 
in  the  following  words  : 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  and  gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses,  I  have  learned  of  your  resolves,  and  augur  ill  of 
their  effects.  You  have  made  it  my  duty  to  dissolve  you, 
and  you  are  dissolved  accordingly." 

The  spirit  conjured  up  by  the  late  decrees  of  Parlia 
ment  was  not  so  easily  allayed.  The  burgesses  adjourned 
to  a  private  house.  Peyton  Randolph,  their  late  speaker, 
was  elected  moderator.  Washington  now  brought  forward 
a  draft  of  the  articles  of  association,  concerted  between 
him  and  George  Mason.  They  formed  the  groundwork  of 
an  instrument  signed  by  all  present,  pledging  themselves 
neither  to  import  nor  use  any  goods,  merchandise,  or 
manufactures  taxed  by  Parliament  to  raise  a  revenue  in 
America.  This  instrument  was  sent  throughout  the  coun 
try  for  signature,  and  the  scheme  of  non-importation, 
hitherto  confined  to  a  few  northern  colonies,  was  soon 
universally  adopted.  For  his  own  part,  "Washington  ad 
hered  to  it  rigorously  throughout  the  year.  The  arti 
cles  proscribed  by  it  were  never  to  be  seen  in  his  house, 
and  his  agent  in  London  was  enjoined  to  ship  nothing  for 
him  while  subject  to  taxation. 

The  popular  ferment  in  Virginia  was  gradually  allayed 
by  the  amiable  and  conciliatory  conduct  of  Lord  Bote- 
tourt.  His  lordship  soon  became  aware  of  the  erroneous 


BOTETOURT  ADVOCATES  REPEAL  OF  TAXES.        4H 

notions  with  which  he  had  entered  upon  office.  His 
semi-royal  equipage  and  state  were  laid  aside.  He  ex 
amined  into  public  grievances ;  became  a  strenuous  ad 
vocate  for  the  repeal  of  taxes ;  and,  authorized  by  his 
despatches  from  the  ministry,  assured  the  public  that 
such  repeal  would  speedily  take  place.  His  assurance 
was  received  with  implicit  faith,  and  for  a  while  Virginia 
was  quieted. 


CHAPTEK  XXX. 

GOOD  AT  BOSTON.— THE  GENERAL  COUKT  REFUSES  TO  DO  BUSINESS  UND1E 
MILITARY  SWAY.— RESISTS  THE  BILLETING  ACT.— EFFECT  OF  THE  NON-IM 
PORTATION  ASSOCIATION. — LORD  NORTH  PREMIER. — DUTIES  REVOKED  EX 
CEPT  ON  TEA. — THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE. — DISUSE  OF  TEA. — CONCILIATORY 
CONDUCT  OF  LORD  BOTETOURT. — HIS  DEATH. 

HE  worst  is  past,  and  the  spirit  of  sedition  bro 
ken,"  writes  Hood  to  Grenville,  early  in  the 
spring  of  1769.*  When  the  commodore  wrote 
this,  his  ships  were  in  the  harbor,  and  troops  occupied 
the  town,  and  he  flattered  himself  that  at  length  turbu 
lent  Boston  was  quelled.  But  it  only  awaited  its  time 
to  be  seditious  according  to  rule ;  there  was  always  an 
irresistible  "  method  in  its  madness." 

In  the  month  of  May,  the  General  Court,  hitherto 
prorogued,  met  according  to  charter.  A  committee  imme 
diately  waited  on  the  governor,  stating  it  was  impossible 
to  do  business  with  dignity  and  freedom  while  the  town 
was  invested  by  sea  and  land,  and  a  military  guard  was 
stationed  at  the  state-house,  with  cannon  pointed  at  the 
door ;  and  they  requested  the  governor,  as  His  Majesty's 

*  Grenvitte  Papers,  vol.  ill. 

412 


QUESTION  OF  ARMY  PROVISION.  U3 

representative,  to  have  such  forces  removed  out  of  the  port 

and  gates  of  the  city  during  the  session  of  the  Assembly. 

The  governor  replied  that  he  had  no  authority  over 

either  the  ships  or  troops.     The  court  persisted  in  refus- 

•no-  to  transact  business  while  so  circumstanced,  and  the 

& 

governor  was  obliged  to  transfer  the  session  to  Cambridge. 
There  he  addressed  a  message  to  that  body  in  July,  re 
quiring  funds  for  the  payment  of  the  troops,  and  quarters 
for  their  accommodation.  The  Assembly,  after  ample 
discussion  of  past  grievances,  resolved,  that  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  standing  army  in  the  colony  in  a  time  of 
peace  was  an  invasion  of  natural  rights ;  that  a  standing 
army  was  not  known  as  a  part  of  the  British  constitution, 
and  that  the  sending  an  armed  force  to  aid  the  civil 
authority  was  unprecedented,  and  highly  dangerous  to 
the  people. 

After  waiting  some  days  without  receiving  an  answer 
to  his  message,  the  governor  sent  to  know  whether  the 
Assembly  would,  or  would  not,  make  provision  for  the 
troops.  In  their  reply,  they  followed  the  example  of  the 
legislature  of  New  York,  in  commenting  on  the  mutiny, 
or  billeting  act,  and  ended  by  declining  to  furnish  funds 
for  the  purposes  specified,  "being  incompatible  with 
their  own  honor  and  interest,  and  their  duty  to  their  con 
stituents."  They  were  in  consequence  again  prorogued, 
to  meet  in  Boston  on  the  10th  of  January. 

So  stood  affairs  in  Massachusetts.  In  the  meantime, 
the  non-importation  associations,  being  generally  ob- 


414  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

served  throughout  the  colonies,  produced  the  effect  on 
British  commerce  which  Washington  had  anticipated, 
and  Parliament  was  incessantly  importuned  by  petitions 
from  British  merchants,  imploring  its  intervention  to 
save  them  from  ruin. 

Early  in  1770,  an  important  change  took  place  in  the 
British  cabinet.  The  Duke  of  Graf  ton  suddenly  re 
signed,  and  the  reins  of  government  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Lord  North.  He  was  a  man  of  limited 
capacity,  but  a  favorite  of  the  king,  and  subservient  to 
his  narrow  colonial  policy.  His  administration,  so  event 
ful  to  America,  commenced  with  an  error.  In  the  month 
of  March,  an  act  was  passed,  revoking  all  the  duties  laid 
in  1767,  excepting  that  on  tea.  This  single  tax  was  con 
tinued,  as  he  observed,  "to  maintain  the  parliamentary 
right  of  taxation," — the  very  right  which  was  the  grand 
object  of  contest.  In  this,  however,  he  was  in  fact  yield 
ing,  against  his  better  judgment,  to  the  stubborn  tenacity 
of  the  king. 

He  endeavored  to  reconcile  the  opposition,  and  per 
haps  himself,  to  the  measure,  by  plausible  reasoning. 
An  impost  of  threepence  on  the  pound  could  never,  he 
alleged,  be  opposed  by  the  colonists,  unless  they  were 
determined  to  rebel  against  Great  Britain.  Besides,  a 
duty  on  that  article,  payable  in  England,  and  amounting 
to  nearly  one  shilling  on  the  pound,  was  taken  off  on  its 
exportation  to  America,  so  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
colonies  saved  ninepence  on  the  pound. 


"  THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE."  415 

Here  was  the  stumbling-block  at  the  threshold  of 
Lord  North's  administration.  In  vain  the  members  of 
the  opposition  urged  that  this  single  exception,  while  it 
would  produce  no  revenue,  would  keep  alive  the  whole 
cause  of  contention ;  that  so  long  as  a  single  external 
duty  was  enforced,  the  colonies  would  consider  their 
rights  invaded  and  would  remain  unappeased.  Lord 
North  was  not  to  be  convinced ;  or  rather,  he  knew  the 
royal  will  was  inflexible,  and  he  complied  with  its  be 
hests.  "  The  properest  time  to  exert  our  right  to  tax 
ation,"  said  he,  "is  when  the  right  is  refused.  To 
temporize  is  to  yield  ;  and  the  authority  of  the  mother 
country,  if  it  is  now  unsupported,  will  be  relinquished 
forever :  a  total  repeal  cannot  be  thought  of  tilt  America  is 
prostrate  at  our  feet."* 

On  the  very  day  in  which  this  ominous  bill  was  passed 
in  Parliament,  a  sinister  occurrence  took  place  in  Boston. 
Some  of  the  young  men  of  the  place  insulted  the  military 
while  under  arms  ;  the  latter  resented  it ;  the  young  men, 
after  a  scuffle,  were  put  to  flight,  and  pursued.  The 
alarm  bells  rang ;  a  mob  assembled  ;  the  custom-house 
was  threatened ;  the  troops  in  protecting  it  were  assailed 
with  clubs  and  stones,  and  obliged  to  use  their  fire-arms, 
before  the  tumult  could  be  quelled.  Four  of  the  popu 
lace  were  killed,  and  several  wounded.  The  troops  were 
now  removed  from  the  town,  which  remained  in  the 

*  Holmes's  Amer.  Annals,  vol.  ii.  p.  173. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

highest  state  of  exasperation ;  and  this  untoward  occur 
rence  received  the  opprobrious  and  somewhat  extrava* 
gant  name  of  "  the  Boston  massacre." 

The  colonists,  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  resumed  the 
consumption  of  those  articles  on  which  the  duties  had 
been  repealed ;  but  continued,  on  principle,  the  rigorous 
disuse  of  tea,  excepting  such  as  had  been  smuggled  in. 
New  England  was  particularly  earnest  in  the  matter; 
many  of  the  inhabitants,  in  the  spirit  of  their  Puritan 
progenitors,  made  a  covenant,  to  drink  no  more  of  the 
forbidden  beverage,  until  the  duty  on  tea  should  be  re 
pealed. 

In  Virginia  the  public  discontents,  which  had  been 
allayed  by  the  conciliatory  conduct  of  Lord  Botetourt, 
and  by  his  assurances,  made  on  the  strength  of  letters 
received  from  the  ministry,  that  the  grievances  com 
plained  of  would  be  speedily  redressed,  now  broke  out 
with  more  violence  than  ever.  The  Virginians  spurned 
the  mock-remedy  which  left  the  real  cause  of  complaint 
untouched.  His  lordship  also  felt  deeply  wounded  by 
the  disingenuousness  of  ministers  which  led  him  into 
such  a  predicament,  and  wrote  home  demanding  his 
discharge.  Before  it  arrived,  an  attack  of  bilious  fever, 
acting  upon  a  delicate  and  sensitive  frame,  enfeebled  by 
anxiety  and  chagrin,  laid  him  in  his  grave.  He  left  be 
hind  him  a  name  endeared  to  the  Virginians  by  his 
amiable  manners,  his  liberal  patronage  of  the  arts,  and, 
above  all,  by  his  zealous  intercession  for  their  rights. 


BOTETOURrS  MONUMENT.  417 

Washington  himself  testifies  that  he  was  inclined  "  to 
render  every  just  and  reasonable  service  to  the  people 
whom  he  governed."  A  statue  to  his  memory  was  de 
creed  by  the  House  of  Burgesses,  to  be  erected  in  the 
area  of  the  capitol.  It  is  still  to  be  seen,  though  in  a 
mutilated  condition,  in  Williamsburg,  the  old  seat  of 
government,  and  a  county  in  Virginia  continues  to  bear 
his  honored  name. 
VOL.  i. — 27 


CHAPTER  XXXL 

EXPEDITION  OF  WASHINGTON  TO  THE  OHIO,  IN  BEHALF  OF  SOLDIERS'  CLAIMS, 
—UNEASY  STATE  OF  THE  FKONTIEK.— VISIT  TO  FORT  PITT.— GEORGE  CRO- 
GHAN.— HIS  MISHAPS  DURING  PONTIAC'S  WAR.— WASHINGTON  DESCENDS  THH 
OHIO.  —  SCENES  AND  ADVENTURES  ALONG  THE  RIVER.  —  INDIAN  HUNTING 
CAMP.— INTERVIEW  WITH  AN  OLD  SACHEM  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  KANA- 
WHA. — RETURN.— CLAIMS  OF  STOBO  AND  VAN  BRAAM. — LETTER  TO  COLONEL 
GEORGE  MUSE. 


S"  the  midst  of  these  popular  turmoils,  Washing 
ton  was  induced,  by  public  as  well  as  private 
considerations,  to  make  another  expedition  to 
the  Ohio.  He  was  one  of  the  Virginia  Board  of  Commis 
sioners,  appointed,  at  the  close  of  the  late  war,  to  settle 
the  military  accounts  of  the  colony.  Among  the  claims 
which  came  before  the  board,  were  those  of  the  officers 
and  soldiers  who  had  engaged  to  serve  until  peace,  under 
the  proclamation  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  holding  forth  a 
bounty  of  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,  to  be  ap 
portioned  among  them  according  to  rank.  Those  claims 
were  yet  unsatisfied,  for  governments,  like  individuals, 
are  slow  to  pay  off  in  peaceful  times  the  debts  incurred 
while  in  the  fighting  mood.  Washington  became  the 
champion  of  those  claims,  and  an  opportunity  now  pre- 
418 


CESSION  OF  LANDS.  419 

sented  itself  for  their  liquidation.  The  Six  Nations,  by  a 
treaty  in  1768,  had  ceded  to  the  British  crown,  in  con 
sideration  of  a  sum  of  money,  all  the  lands  possessed  by 
them  south  of  the  Ohio.  Land  offices  would  soon  be 
opened  for  the  sale  of  them.  Squatters  and  speculators 
were  already  preparing  to  swarm  in,  set  up  their  marks 
on  the  choicest  spots,  and  establish  what  were  called  pre 
emption  rights.  Washington  determined  at  once  to  visit 
the  lands  thus  ceded,  affix  his  mark  on  such  tracts  as  he 
should  select,  and  apply  for  a  grant  from  government  in 
behalf  of  the  "  soldier's  claim." 

The  expedition  would  be  attended  with  some  degree  of 
danger.  The  frontier  was  yet  in  an  uneasy  state.  It  is 
true  some  time  had  elapsed  since  the  war  of  Pontiac,  but 
some  of  the  Indian  tribes  were  almost  ready  to  resume 
the  hatchet.  The  Delawares,  Shawnees,  and  Mingoes 
complained  that  the  Six  Nations  had  not  given  them  their 
full  share  of  the  consideration  money  of  the  late  sale, 
and  they  talked  of  exacting  the  deficiency  from  the  white 
men  who  came  to  settle  in  what  had  been  their  hunting- 
grounds.  Traders,  squatters,  and  other  adventurers  into 
the  wilderness,  were  occasionally  murdered,  and  further 
troubles  were  apprehended. 

Washington  had  for  a  companion  in  this  expedition  his 
friend  and  neighbor,  Dr.  Craik,  and  it  was  with  strong 
community  of  feeling  they  looked  forward  peaceably  to 
revisit  the  scenes  of  their  military  experience.  They  set 
out  on  the  5th  of  October  with  three  negro  attendants, 


420  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

two  belonging  to  Washington,  and  one  to  the  doctor. 
The  whole  party  was  mounted,  and  there  was  a  led  horse 
for  the  baggage. 

After  twelve  days'  travelling  they  arrived  at  Fort  Pitt 
(late  Fort  Duquesne).  It  was  garrisoned  by  two  com 
panies  of  Royal  Irish,  commanded  by  a  Captain  Edmon- 
son.  A  hamlet  of  about  twenty  log-houses,  inhabited  by 
Indian  traders,  had  sprung  up  within  three  hundred 
yards  of  the  fort,  and  was  called  "  the  town."  It  was  the 
embryo  city  of  Pittsburg,  now  so  populous.  At  one  of 
the  houses,  a  tolerable  frontier  inn,  they  took  up  their 
quarters  ;  but  during  their  brief  sojourn  they  were  enter 
tained  with  great  hospitality  at  the  fort. 

Here  at  dinner  Washington  met  his  old  acquaintance, 
George  Croghan,  who  had  figured  in  so  many  capacities 
and  experienced  so  many  vicissitudes  on  the  frontier. 
He  was  now  Colonel  Croghan,  deputy-agent  to  Sir  William 
Johnson,  and  had  his  residence — or  seat,  as  Washington 
terms  it — on  the  banks  of  the  Alleghany  Eiver,  about  four 
miles  from  the  fort. 

Croghan  had  experienced  troubles  and  dangers  during 
the  Pontiac  war,  both  from  white  man  and  savage.  At 
one  time,  while  he  was  convoying  presents  from  Sir 
William  to  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees,  his  caravan  was 
set  upon  and  plundered  by  a  band  of  backwoodsmen  of 
Pennsylvania — men  resembling  Indians  in  garb  and 
habits,  and  fully  as  lawless.  At  another  time,  when  en 
camped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  with  some  of  his  In- 


PONTIAC'S  FEROC1TT.  421 

dian  allies,  a  band  of  Kickapoos,  supposing  the  latter  to 
be  Cherokees,  their  deadly  enemies,  rushed  forth  from 
the  woods  with  horrid  yells,  shot  down  several  of  his 
companions,  and  wounded  himself.  It  must  be  added, 
that  no  white  men  could  have  made  more  ample  apolo 
gies  than  did  the  Kickapoos,  when  they  discovered  that 
they  had  fired  upon  friends. 

Another  of  Croghan's  perils  was  from  the  redoubtable 
Pontiac  himself.  That  chieftain  had  heard  of  his  being 
on  a  mission  to  win  off,  by  dint  of  presents,  the  other 
sachems  of  the  conspiracy,  and  declared,  significantly, 
that  he  had  a  large  kettle  boiling  in  which  he  intended 
to  seethe  the  ambassador.  It  was  fortunate  for  Croghan 
that  he  did  not  meet  with  the  formidable  chieftain  while 
in  this  exasperated  mood.  He  subsequently  encountered 
him  when  Pontiac's  spirits  were  broken  by  reverses. 
They  smoked  the  pipe  of  peace  together,  and  the  colonel 
claimed  the  credit  of  having,  by  his  diplomacy,  persuaded 
the  sachem  to  bury  the  hatchet. 

On  the  day  following  the  repast  at  the  fort,  "Washing 
ton  visited  Croghan  at  his  abode  on  the  Alleghany  River, 
where  he  found  several  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations 
assembled.  One  of  them,  the  White  Mingo  by  name, 
made  him  a  speech,  accompanied,  as  usual,  by  a  belt  of 
wampum.  Some  of  his  companions,  he  said,  remembered 
to  have  seen  him  in  1753,  when  he  came  on  his  embassy 
to  the  French  commander  ;  most  of  them  had  heard  of 
him.  They  had  now  come  to  welcome  him  to  their  coun- 


£22  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

try.  They  wished  the  people  of  Virginia  to  consider 
them  as  friends  and  brothers,  linked  together  in  one 
chain,  and  requested  him  to  inform  the  governor  of  their 
desire  to  live  in  peace  and  harmony  with  the  white  men. 
As  to  certain  unhappy  differences  which  had  taken  place 
between  them  on  the  frontiers,  they  were  all  made  up, 
and,  they  hoped,  forgotten. 

Washington  accepted  the  "  speech-belt,"  and  made  a 
suitable  reply,  assuring  the  chiefs  that  nothing  was  more 
desired  by  the  people  of  Virginia  than  to  live  with  them 
on  terms  of  the  strictest  friendship. 

At  Pittsburg  the  travellers  left  their  horses,  and  em 
barked  in  a  large  canoe,  to  make  a  voyage  down  the  Ohio 
as  far  as  the  Great  Kanawha.  Colonel  Croghan  engaged 
two  Indians  for  their  service,  and  an  interpreter  named 
John  Nicholson.  The  colonel  and  some  of  the  officers  of 
the  garrison  accompanied  them  as  far  as  Logstown,  the 
scene  of  Washington's  early  diplomacy,  and  his  first 
interview  with  the  half-king.  Here  they  breakfasted 
together;  after  which  they  separated,  the  colonel  and 
his  companions  cheering  the  voyagers  from  the  shore,  as 
the  canoe  was  borne  off  by  the  current  of  the  beautiful 
Ohio. 

It  was  now  the  hunting  season,  when  the  Indians  leave 
their  towns,  set  off  with  their  families,  and  lead  a  roving 
life  in  cabins  and  hunting-camps  along  the  river ;  shift 
ing  from  place  to  place,  as  game  abounds  or  decreases, 
and  often  extending  their  migrations  two  or  three  hun- 


WILD-WOOD  LIFE.  423 

dred  miles  down  the  stream.  The  women  were  as  dex 
terous  as  the  men  in  the  management  of  the  canoe,  but 
were  generally  engaged  in  the  domestic  labors  of  the 
lodge  while  their  husbands  were  abroad  hunting. 

Washington's  propensities  as  a  sportsman  had  here 
full  play.  Deer  were  continually  to  be  seen  coming 
down  to  the  water's  edge  to  drink,  or  browsing  along  the 
shore ;  there  were  innumerable  flocks  of  wild  turkeys, 
and  streaming  flights  of  ducks  and  geese ;  so  that  as  the 
voyagers  floated  along,  they  were  enabled  to  load  their 
canoe  with  game.  At  night  they  encamped  on  the  river 
bank,  lit  their  fire  and  made  a  sumptuous  hunter's  re 
past.  "Washington  always  relished  this  wild- wood  life ; 
and  the  present  had  that  spice  of  danger  in  it  which  has 
a  peculiar  charm  for  adventurous  minds.  The  great  ob 
ject  of  his  expedition,  however,  is  evinced  in  his  constant 
notes  on  the  features  and  character  of  the  country,  the 
quality  of  the  soil  as  indicated  by  the  nature  of  the  trees, 
and  the  level  tracts  fitted  for  settlements. 

About  seventy-five  miles  below  Pittsburg  the  voyagers 
landed  at  a  Mingo  town,  which  they  found  in  a  stir  of 
warlike  preparation — sixty  of  the  warriors  being  about 
to  set  off  on  a  foray  into  the  Cherokee  country  against 
the  Catawbas. 

Here  the  voyagers  were  brought  to  a  pause  by  a  report 
that  two  white  men,  traders,  had  been  murdered  about 
thirty-eight  miles  further  down  the  river.  Reports  of 
the  kind  were  not  to  be  treated  lightly.  Indian  faith 


424  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

was  uncertain  along  the  frontier,  and  white  men  were 
often  shot  down  in  the  wilderness  for  plunder  or  revenge. 
On  the  following  day  the  report  moderated.  Only  one 
man  was  said  to  have  been  killed,  and  that  not  by  In 
dians;  so  Washington  determined  to  continue  forward 
until  he  could  obtain  correct  information  in  the  matter. 

On  the  24th,  about  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  voy 
agers  arrived  at  Captema  Creek,  at  the  mouth  of  which 
the  trader  was  said  to  have  been  killed.  As  all  was  quiet 
and  no  one  to  be  seen,  they  agreed  to  encamp,  while  Nich 
olson  the  interpreter,  and  one  of  the  Indians,  repaired  to 
a  village  a  few  miles  up  the  creek  to  inquire  about  the 
murder.  They  found  but  two  old  women  at  the  village. 
The  men  were  all  absent,  hunting.  The  interpreter 
returned  to  camp  in  the  evening,  bringing  the  truth  of 
the  murderous  tale.  A  trader  had  fallen  a  victim  to  his 
temerity,  having  been  drowned  in  attempting,  in  com 
pany  with  another,  to  swim  his  horse  across  the  Ohio. 

Two  days  more  of  voyaging  brought  them  to  an  Indian 
hunting  camp,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum.  Here 
it  was  necessary  to  land  and  make  a  ceremonious  visit, 
for  the  chief  of  the  hunting  party  was  Kiashuta,  a  Seneca 
sachem,  the  head  of  the  river  tribes.  He  was  noted  to 
have  been  among  the  first  to  raise  the  hatchet  in  Pon- 
tiac's  conspiracy,  and  almost  equally  vindictive  with  that 
potent  warrior.  As  Washington  approached  the  chief 
tain,  he  recognized  him  for  one  of  the  Indians  who  had 
accompanied  him  on  his  mission  to  the  French  in  1753. 


INDIAN  HOSPITALITY.  425 

Kiashuta  retained  a  perfect  recollection  of  the  youth 
ful  ambassador,  though  seventeen  years  had  matured 
him  into  thoughtful  manhood.  With  hunter's  hospitality 
he  gave  him  a  quarter  of  a  fine  buffalo  just  slain,  but 
insisted  that  they  should  encamp  together  for  the  night ; 
and  in  order  not  to  retard  him,  moved  with  his  own  party 
to  a  good  camping  place  some  distance  down  the  river. 
Here  they  had  long  talks  and  council-fires  over  night 
and  in  the  morning,  with  all  the  "  tedious  ceremony," 
says  Washington,  "  which  the  Indians  observe  in  their 
counselings  and  speeches."  Kiashuta  had  heard  of  what 
had  passed  between  Washington  and  the  "  White  Mingo," 
and  other  sachems,  at  Colonel  Croghan's,  and  was  eager 
to  express  his  own  desire  for  peace  and  friendship  with 
Virginia,  and  fair  dealings  with  her  traders  ;  all  which 
Washington  promised  to  report  faithfully  to  the  gov 
ernor.  It  was  not  until  a  late  hour  in  the  morning  that 
he  was  enabled  to  bring  these  conferences  to  a  close,  and 
pursue  his  voyage. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha  the  voyagers  en 
camped  for  a  day  or  two  to  examine  the  lands  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  Washington  set  up  his  mark  upon 
such  as  he  intended  to  claim  on  behalf  of  the  soldiers' 
grant.  It  was  a  fine  sporting  country,  having  small  lakes 
or  grassy  ponds  abounding  with  water-fowl,  such  as 
ducks,  geese,  and  swans;  flocks  of  turkeys,  as  usual; 
and,  for  larger  game,  deer  and  buffalo ;  so  that  their  camp 
abounded  with  provisions. 


426  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Here  Washington  was  visited  by  an  old  sachem  who 
approached  him  with  great  reverence,  at  the  head  of  sev 
eral  of  his  tribe,  and  addressed  him  through  Nicholson, 
the  interpreter.  He  had  heard,  he  said,  of  his  being  in 
that  part  of  the  country,  and  had  come  from  a  great  dis 
tance  to  see  him.  On  further  discourse,  the  sachem 
made  known  that  he  was  one  of  the  warriors  in  the  ser 
vice  of  the  French,  who  lay  in  ambush  on  the  banks  of 
the  Monongahela  and  wrought  such  havoc  in  Braddock's 
army.  He  declared  that  he  and  his  young  men  had  sin 
gled  out  Washington,  as  he  made  himself  conspicuous 
riding  about  the  field  of  battle  with  the  general's  orders, 
and  had  fired  at  him  repeatedly,  but  without  success ; 
whence  they  had  concluded  that  he  was  under  the  pro 
tection  of  the  Great  Spirit,  had  a  charmed  life,  and  could 
not  be  slain  in  battle. 

At  the  Great  Kanawha  Washington's  expedition  down 
the  Ohio  terminated,  having  visited  all  the  points  he 
wished  to  examine.  His  return  to  Fort  Pitt,  and  thence 
homeward,  affords  no  incident  worthy  of  note.  The  whole 
expedition,  however,  was  one  of  that  hardy  and  adven 
turous  kind,  mingled  with  practical  purposes,  in  which  he 
delighted.  This  winter  voyage  down  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe, 
with  the  doctor  for  a  companion  and  two  Indians  for 
crew,  through  regions  yet  insecure,  from  the  capricious 
hostility  of  prowling  savages,  is  not  one  of  the  least  strik 
ing  of  his  frontier  "  experiences."  The  hazardous  nature 
of  it  was  made  apparent  shortly  afterwards  by  another 


A  SHARP  REJOINDER.  427 

outbreak  of  the  Ohio  tribes :  one  of  its  bloodiest  actions 
took  place  on  the  very  b^nks  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  in 
which  Colonel  Lewis  and  a  number  of  brave  Virginians 
lost  their  lives. 

NOTE. 

In  the  fi&al  adjustment  of  claims  under  Governor  Dinwiddie's  procla 
mation,  Washington,  acting  on  behalf  of  the  officers  and  soldiers,  ob 
tained  grants  for  the  lands  he  had  marked  out  in  the  course  of  his  visit  to 
the  Ohio.  Fifteen  thousand  acres  were  awarded  to  a  field-officer,  nine 
thousand  to  a  captain,  six  thousand  to  a  subaltern,  and  so  on.  Among 
the  claims  which  he  entered  were  those  of  Stobo  and  Van  Braam,  the 
hostages  in  the  capitulation  at  the  Great  Meadows.  After  many  vicissi 
tudes  they  were  now  in  London,  and  nine  thousand  acres  were  awarded  to 
each  of  them.  Their  domains  were  ultimately  purchased  by  Washington 
through  his  London  agent. 

Another  claimant  was  Colonel  George  Muse,  Washington's  early  in 
structor  in  military  science.  His  claim  was  admitted  with  difficulty,  for 
he  stood  accused  of  having  acted  the  part  of  a  poltroon  in  the  campaign, 
and  Washington  seems  to  have  considered  the  charge  well  founded.  Still 
he  appears  to  have  been  dissatisfied  with  the  share  of  land  assigned  him, 
and  to  have  written  to  Washington  somewhat  rudely  on  the  subject.  His 
letter  is  not  extant,  but  we  subjoin  Washington's  reply  almost  entire,  as  a 
specimen  of  the  caustic  pen  he  could  wield  under  a  mingled  emotion  of 
scorn  and  indignation. 

"  SIR,  —Your  impertinent  letter  was  delivered  to  me  yesterday.  As  I 
am  not  accustomed  to  receive  such  from  any  man,  nor  would  have  taken 
the  same  language  from  you  personally,  without  letting  you  feel  some 
marks  of  my  resentment,  1  advise  you  to  be  cautious  in  writing  me  a  sec 
ond  of  the  same  tenor  ;  for  though  I  understand  you  were  drunk  when 
you  did  it,  yet  give  me  leave  to  tell  you  that  drunkenness  is  no  excuse  for 
rudeness.  But  for  your  stupidity  and  sottishness  you  might  have  known, 
by  attending  to  the  public  gazette,  that  you  had  your  full  quantity  of  ten 
thousand  acres  of  land  allowed  you  ;  that  is,  nine  thousand  and  seventy- 
three  acres  in  the  great  tract,  and  the  remainder  in  the  small  tract. 

11  But  suppose  you  had  really  fallen  shorf,  do  you  think  your  super 
lative  merit  entitles  you  to  greater  indulgence  than  others  ?  Or,  if  it  did, 


428  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

that  1  was  to  make  it  good  to  you,  when  it  was  at  the  option  of  the  gov» 
ernor  and  council  to  allow  but  five  hundred  acres  in  the  whole,  if  they 
had  been  so  inclined  ?  If  either  of  these  should  happen  to  be  your  opin 
ion,  I  am  very  well  convinced  that  you  will  be  singular  in  it ;  and  all  my 
concern  is  that  I  ever  engaged  myself  in  behalf  of  so  ungrateful  and 
dirty  a  fellow  as  you  are." 

N.  B. — The  above  is  from  the  letter  as  it  exists  in  the  archives  of  the 
Department  of  State  at  Washington.  It  differs  in  two  or  three  particu 
lars  from  that  published  among  Washington's  writings. 


CHAPTEK  XXXIL 


LORD  DT7NMORE  GOVERNOR  OF  VIRGINIA. — PIQUES  THE  PRIDE  OF  THE  VIRGIN 
IANS. —OPPOSITION  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY.  —  CORRESPONDING  COMMITTEES.— 
DEATH  OF  MISS  CUSTIS. — WASHINGTON'S  GUARDIANSHIP  OF  JOHN  PARKB 
CUSTIS. — HIS  OPINIONS  AS  TO  PREMATURE  TRAVEL  AND  PREMATURE  MAR 
RIAGE. 


HE  discontents  of  Virginia,  which  had  been 
partially  soothed  by  the  amiable  administra 
tion  of  Lord  Botetourt,  were  irritated  anew 
under  his  successor,  the  Earl  of  Dumnore.  This  no 
bleman  had  for  a  short  time  held  the  government  of 
New  York.  "When  appointed  to  that  of  Yirginia,  he  lin 
gered  for  several  months  at  his  former  post.  In  the 
meantime,  he  sent  his  military  secretary,  Captain  Foy, 
to  attend  to  the  despatch  of  business  until  his  arrival, 
awarding  to  him  a  salary  and  fees  to  be  paid  by  the 
colony. 

The  pride  of  the  Virginians  was  piqued  at  his  linger 
ing  at  New  York,  as  if  he  preferred  its  gayety  and  luxury 
to  the  comparative  quiet  and  simplicity  of  Williamsburg. 
Their  pride  was  still  more  piqued  on  his  arrival,  by  what 
they  considered  haughtiness  on  his  part.  The  spirit  of 

429 


£30  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  "  Ancient  Dominion "  was  roused,  and  his  lordship 
experienced  opposition  at  his  very  outset. 

The  first  measure  of  the  Assembly,  at  its  opening,  was 
to  demand  by  what  right  he  had  awarded  a  salary  and 
fees  to  his  secretary  without  consulting  it ;  and  to  ques 
tion  whether  it  was  authorized  by  the  crown. 

His  lordship  had  the  good  policy  to  rescind  the  un 
authorized  act,  and  in  so  doing  mitigated  the  ire  of  the 
Assembly;  but  he  lost  no  time  in  proroguing  a  body, 
which,  from  various  symptoms,  appeared  to  be  too  inde 
pendent,  and  disposed  to  be  untractable. 

He  continued  to  prorogue  it  from  time  to  time,  seeking 
in  the  interim  to  conciliate  the  Virginians,  and  soothe 
their  irritated  pride.  At  length,  after  repeated  proro 
gations,  he  was  compelled  by  circumstances  to  convene 
it  on  the  1st  of  March,  1773. 

Washington  was  prompt  in  his  attendance  on  the  occa 
sion;  and  foremost  among  the  patriotic  members,  who 
eagerly  availed  themselves  of  this  long  wished-for  oppor 
tunity  to  legislate  upon  the  general  affairs  of  the  colonies. 
One  of  their  most  important  measures  was  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  committee  of  eleven  persons,  "  whose  business 
it  should  be  to  obtain  the  most  clear  and  authentic  intelli 
gence  of  all  such  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  British  Par 
liament,  or  proceedings  of  administration,  as  may  relate  to 
or  affect  the  British  colonies,  and  to  maintain  with  their 
sister  colonies  a  correspondence  and  communication." 

The  plan  thus  proposed  by  their  "  noble,  patriotic  sis- 


A  SORE  AFFLICTION. 

ter  colony  of  Virginia,"  *  was  promptly  adopted  by  the 
people  of  Massachusetts,  and  soon  met  with  general  con 
currence.  These  corresponding  committees,  in  effect, 
became  the  executive  power  of  the  patriot  party,  pro 
ducing  the  happiest  concert  of  design  and  action  through 
out  the  colonies. 

Notwithstanding  the  decided  part  taken  by  Washing 
ton  in  the  popular  movement,  very  friendly  relations 
existed  between  him  and  Lord  Dunmore.  The  latter 
appreciated  his  character,  and  sought  to  avail  himself 
of  his  experience  in  the  affairs  of  the  province.  It  was 
even  concerted  that  Washington  should  accompany  his 
lordship  on  an  extensive  tour,  which  the  latter  intended 
to  make  in  the  course  of  the  summer  along  the  western 
frontier.  A  melancholy  circumstance  occurred  to  defeat 
this  arrangement. 

We  have  spoken  of  Washington's  paternal  conduct  to 
wards  the  two  children  of  Mrs.  Washington.  The  daugh 
ter,  Miss  Custis,  had  long  been  an  object  of  extreme 
solicitude.  She  was  of  a  fragile  constitution,  and  for 
some  time  past  had  been  in  very  declining  health.  Early 
in  the  present  summer,  symptoms  indicated  a  rapid 
change  for  the  worse.  Washington  was  absent  from 
home  at  the  time.  On  his  return  to  Mount  Vernon,  he 
found  her  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption. 

Though  not  a  man  given  to  bursts  of  sensibility,  he  is 

*  Boston  Tovra  Records. 


432  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

said  on  the  present  occasion  to  have  evinced  the  deepest 
affliction,  kneeling  by  her  bedside  and  pouring  out  ear* 
nest  prayers  for  her  recovery.  She  expired  on  the  19th 
of  June,  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  her  age.  This,  of 
course,  put  an  end  to  Washington's  intention  of  accom 
panying  Lord  Dunmore  to  the  frontier ;  he  remained  at 
home  to  console  Mrs.  Washington  in  her  affliction — fur 
nishing  his  lordship,  however,  with  travelling  hints  and 
directions,  and  recommending  proper  guides.  And  here 
we  will  take  occasion  to  give  a  few  brief  particulars  of 
domestic  affairs  at  Mount  Yernon. 

For  a  long  time  previous  to  the  death  of  Miss  Custis, 
her  mother,  despairing  of  her  recovery,  had  centred  her 
hopes  in  her  son,  John  Parke  Custis.  This  rendered 
Washington's  guardianship  of  him  a  delicate  and  diffi 
cult  task.  He  was  lively,  susceptible,  and  impulsive  ; 
had  an  independent  fortune  in  his  own  right,  and  an  in 
dulgent  mother,  ever  ready  to  plead  in  his  behalf  against 
wholesome  discipline.  He  had  been  placed  under  the 
care  and  instruction  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman  at  An 
napolis,  but  was  occasionally  at  home,  mounting  his 
horse,  and  taking  a  part,  while  yet  a  boy,  in  the  fox-hunts 
at  Mount  Vernon.  His  education  had  consequently  been 
irregular  and  imperfect,  and  not  such  as  Washington 
would  have  enforced  had  he  possessed  over  him  the  ab 
solute  authority  of  a  father.  Shortly  after  the  return  of 
the  latter  from  his  tour  to  the  Ohio,  he  was  concerned  to 
find  that  there  was  an  idea  entertained  of  sending  the  lad 


EARLY  TRAVEL  AND  EARLY  MARRIAGE.        433 

abroad,  though  but  little  more  than  sixteen  years  of  age, 
to  travel  under  the  care  of  his  clerical  tutor.  Through 
his  judicious  interference,  the  travelling  scheme  was 
postponed,  and  it  was  resolved  to  give  the  young  gen 
tleman's  mind  the  benefit  of  a  little  preparatory  home 
culture. 

Little  more  than  a  year  elapsed  before  the  sallying  im 
pulses  of  the  youth  had  taken  a  new  direction.  He  was 
in  love  ;  what  was  more,  he  was  engaged  to  the  object  of 
his  passion,  and  on  the  high  road  to  matrimony. 

Washington  now  opposed  himself  to  premature  mar 
riage  as  he  had  done  to  premature  travel.  A  correspond 
ence  ensued  between  him  and  the  young  lady's  father, 
Benedict  Calvert,  Esq.  The  match  was  a  satisfactory 
one  to  all  parties,  but  it  was  agreed,  that  it  was  expedi 
ent  for  the  youth  to  pass  a  year  or  two  previously  at 
college.  Washington  accordingly  accompanied  him  to 
New  York,  and  placed  him  under  the  care  of  the  Eev. 
Dr.  Cooper,  president  of  King's  (now  Columbia)  College, 
to  pursue  his  studies  in  that  institution.  All  this  oc 
curred  before  the  death  of  his  sister.  Within  a  year  after 
that  melancholy  event,  he  became  impatient  for  a  union 
with  the  object  of  his  choice.  His  mother,  now  more 
indulgent  than  ever  to  this,  her  only  child,  yielded 
her  consent,  and  Washington  no  longer  made  opposi 
tion. 

"  It  has  been  against  my  wishes,"  writes  the  latter  to 
President  Cooper,  "  that  he  should  quit  college  in  order 
VOL.  i.— 28 


434  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON1. 

that  he  may  soon  enter  into  a  new  scene  of  life,  which  1 
think  he  would  be  much  fitter  for  some  years  hence  than 
now.  But  having  his  own  inclination,  the  desires  of  his 
mother,  and  the  acquiescence  of  almost  all  his  relatives 
to  encounter,  I  did  not  care,  as  he  is  the  last  of  the 
family,  to  push  my  opposition  too  far ;  I  have,  therefore, 
submitted  to  a  kind  of  necessity." 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  on  the  3d  of  February, 
1774,  before  the  bridegroom  was  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

NOTE. 

We  are  induced  to  subjoin  extracts  of  two  letters  .from  Washington 
relative  to  young  Custis.  The  first  gives  his  objections  to  premature 
travel ;  the  second  to  premature  matrimony.  Both  are  worthy  of  consid 
eration  in  this  country,  where  our  young  people  have  such  a  general  dis 
position  to  "go  ahead." 

To  the  Reverend  Jonathan  Boucher  (the  tutor  of  you^i  Custis). 

....  "I  cannot  help  giving  it  as  my  opinion,  that  his  education, 
however  advanced  it  may  be  for  a  youth  of  his  age,  is  by  no  means  ripe 
enough  for  a  travelling  tour  ;  not  that  I  think  his  becoming  a  mere 
scholar  is  a  desirable  education  for  a  gentleman,  but  I  conceive  a  knowl 
edge  of  books  is  the  basis  upon  which  all  other  knowledge  is  to  be  built, 
and  in  travelling  he  is  to  become  acquainted  with  men  and  things,  rather 
than  books.  At  present,  however  well  versed  he  may  be  in  the  pnnciolef 
of  the  Latin  language  (which  is  not  to  oe  wondered  at,  as  he  began  tho 
study  of  it  as  soon  as  he  could  speak),  he  is  unacquainted  with  several  01 
the  classic  authors  that  might  be  useful  to  him.  He  is  ignorant  of  Greek, 
the  advantages  of  learning  which  I  do  not  pretend  to  judge  of  ;  and  he 
knows  nothing  of  French,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  him  as  a  trav 
eller.  He  has  little  or  no  acquaintance  with  arithmetic,  and  is  totally 
Ignorant  of  the  mathematics — than  which,  at  least,  so  much  of  them  as 
relates  to  surveying,  nothing  can  be  more  essentially  necessary  to  any 
man  possessed  of  a  large  landed  estate,  the  bounds  of  some  part  or  other  of 


WORTHY  SUGGESTIONS.  435 

which  are  always  in  controversy.  Now  whether  he  has  time  between  this 
and  next  spring  to  acquire  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  these  studies,  I  leave 
you  to  judge ;  as,  also,  whether  a  boy  of  seventeen  years  old  (which  will  be 
his  age  next  November),  can  have  any  just  notions  of  the  end  and  design 
of  travelling.  I  have  already  given  it  as  my  opinion  that  it  would  be 
precipitating  this  event,  unless  he  were  to  go  immediately  to  the  univer 
sity  for  a  couple  of  years  ;  in  which  case  he  could  see  nothing  of  America, 
which  might  be  a  disadvantage  to  him,  as  it  is  to  be  expected  that  every 
man,  who  travels  with  a  view  of  observing  the  laws  and  customs  of  other 
countries,  should  be  able  to  give  some  description  of  the  situation  and 
government  of  his  own." 

The  following  are  extracts  from  the  letter  to  Benedict  Calvert,  Esq., 
the  young  lady's  father  : — 

"  I  write  to  you  on  a  subject  of  importance,  and  of  no  small  embarrass 
ment  to  me.  My  son-in-law  and  ward,  Mr.  Custis,  has,  as  I  have  been 
informed,  paid  his  addresses  to  your  second  daughter  ;  and  having  made 
some  progress  in  her  affections,  has  solicited  her  in  marriage.  How  far 
a  union  of  this  sort  may  be  agreeable  to  you,  you  best  can  tell ;  but  1 
should  think  myself  wanting  in  candor,  were  I  not  to  confess  that  Miss 
Nelly's  amiable  qualities  are  acknowledged  on  all  hands,  and  that  an 
alliance  with  your  family  will  be  pleasing  to  his. 

"  This  acknowledgment  being  made,  you  must  permit  me  to  add,  sir, 
that  at  this,  or  in  any  short  time,  his  youth,  inexperience,  and  unripened 
education  are,  and  will  be,  insuperable  obstacles,  in  my  opinion,  to  the 
completion  of  the  marriage.  As  his  guardian,  I  conceive  it  my  indispen 
sable  duty  to  endeavor  to  carry  him  through  a  regular  course  of  education 
(many  branches  of  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  he  is  totally  deficient  in), 
and  to  guide  his  youth  to  a  more  advanced  age,  before  an  event,  on  which 
his  own  peace  and  the  happiness  of  another  are  to  depend,  takes  place. 
....  If  the  affection  which  they  have  avowed  for  each  other  is  fixed 
upon  a  solid  basis,  it  will  receive  no  diminution  in  the  course  of  two  or 
three  years  ;  in  which  time  he  may  prosecute  his  studies,  and  thereby 
render  himself  more  deserving  of  the  lady,  and  useful  to  society.  If,  un 
fortunately,  as  they  are  both  young,  there  should  be  an  abatement  of  affec 
tion  on  either  side,  or  both,  it  had  better  precede  than  follow  marriage. 

"Delivering  my  sentiments  thus  freely,  will  not,  I  hope,  lead  you  into 
a  belief  that  I  am  desirous  of  breaking  off  the  match.  To  postpone  it  is 
all  I  have  in  view  ;  for  I  shall  recommend  to  the  young  gentleman,  with 


436  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  warmth  that  becomes  a  man  of  honor,  to  consider  himself  as  much 
engaged  to  your  daughter,  as  if  the  indissoluble  knot  were  tied  ;  and  as 
the  surest  means  of  effecting  this,  to  apply  himself  closely  to  his  studies, 
by  which  he  will,  in  a  great  measure,  avoid  those  little  flirtations  with 
other  young  ladies,  that  may,  by  dividing  the  attention,  contribute  not  a 
little  to  divide  the  affection." 


CHAPTEE  XXXHL 

LORD  NORTH'S  BILL  FAVORING  THE  EXPORTATION  OP  TEAS. — SHIPS  FREIGHTED 

WITH  TEA  TO  THE  COLONIES.— SENT  BACK  FROM  SOME  OF  THE  PORTS.— TEA 
DESTROYED  AT  BOSTON. — PASSAGE  OF  THE  BOSTON  PORT  BILL. — SESSION 
OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  BURGESSES.  —  SPLENDID  OPENING.— BURST  OF  INDIGNA 
TION  AT  THE  PORT  BILL.— HOUSE  DISSOLVED.— RESOLUTIONS  AT  THE  RA 
LEIGH  TAVERN. —PROJECT  OF  A  GENERAL  CONGRESS.  —  WASHINGTON  AND 
LORD  DUNMORE.— THE  PORT  BILL  GOES  INTO  EFFECT.— GENERAL  GAGE  AT 
BOSTON.— LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT. 

HE  general  covenant  throughout  the  colonies 
against  the  use  of  taxed  tea,  had  operated  dis» 
astrously  against  the  interests  of  the  East  India 
Company,  and  produced  an  immense  accumulation  of  the 
proscribed  article  in  their  warehouses.  To  remedy  this, 
Lord  North  brought  in  a  bill  (1773),  by  which  the  com 
pany  were  allowed  to  export  their  teas  from  England  to 
any  part  whatever,  without  paying  export  duty.  This, 
by  enabling  them  to  offer  their  teas  at  a  low  price  in  the 
colonies  would,  he  supposed,  tempt  the  Americans  to 
purchase  large  quantities,  thus  relieving  the  Company, 
and  at  the  same  time  benefiting  the  revenue  by  the  im 
post  duty.  Confiding  in  the  wisdom  of  this  policy,  the 
Company  disgorged  their  warehouses,  freighted  several 
ships  with  tea,  and  sont  them  to  various  parts  of  the 

437 


4:38  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

colonies.  This  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  One  senti 
ment,  one  determination,  pervaded  the  whole  continent. 
Taxation  was  to  receive  its  definite  blow.  Whoever  sub 
mitted  to  it  was  an  enemy  to  his  country.  From  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  the  ships  were  sent  back,  un 
laden,  to  London.  In  Charleston  the  tea  was  unloaded, 
and  stored  away  in  cellars  and  other  places,  where  it 
perished.  At  Boston  the  action  was  still  more  decisive. 
The  ships  anchored  in  the  harbor.  Some  small  parcels 
of  tea  were  brought  on  shore,  but  the  sale  of  them  was 
prohibited.  The  captains  of  the  ships,  seeing  the  des 
perate  state  of  the  case,  would  have  made  sail  back  for 
England,  but  they  could  not  obtain  the  consent  of  the 
consignees,  a  clearance  at  the  custom-house,  or  a  pass 
port  from  the  governor  to  clear  the  fort.  It  was  evident, 
the  tea  was  to  be  forced  upon  the  people  of  Boston,  and 
the  principle  of  taxation  established. 

To  settle  the  matter  completely,  and  prove  that,  on  a 
point  of  principle,  they  were  not  to  be  trifled  with,  a 
number  of  the  inhabitants,  disguised  as  Indians,  boarded 
the  ships  in  the  night  (18th  December),  broke  open  all 
the  chests  of  tea,  and  emptied  the  contents  into  the  sea. 
This  was  no  rash  and  intemperate  proceeding  of  a  mob, 
but  the  well-considered,  though  resolute  act  of  sober, 
respectable  citizens,  men  of  reflection,  but  determination. 
The  whole  was  done  calmly,  and  in  perfect  order ;  after 
which  the  actors  in  the  scene  dispersed  without  tumult, 
and  returned  quietly  to  their  homes. 


TEE  BOSTON  PORT  BILL.  439 

The  general  opposition  of  the  colonies  to  the  princi 
ple  of  taxation  had  given  great  annoyance  to  government, 
but  this  individual  act  concentrated  all  its  wrath  upon 
Boston.  A  bill  was  forthwith  passed  in  Parliament 
(commonly  called  the  Boston  port  bill),  by  which  all 
lading  and  unlading  of  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise, 
were  to  cease  in  that  town  and  harbor,  on  and  after  the 
4th  of  June,  and  the  officers  of  the  customs  to  be  trans 
ferred  to  Salem. 

Another  law,  passed  soon  after,  altered  the  charter  of 
the  province,  decreeing  that  all  counselors,  judges,  and 
magistrates,  should  be  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  hold 
office  during  the  royal  pleasure. 

This  was  followed  by  a  third,  intended  for  the  sup 
pression  of  riots  ;  and  providing  that  any  person  indicted 
for  murder,  or  other  capital  offense,  committed  in  aiding 
the  magistracy,  might  be  sent  by  the  governor  to  some 
other  colony,  or  to  Great  Britain,  for  trial. 

Such  was  the  bolt  of  Parliamentary  wrath  fulminated 
against  the  devoted  town  of  Boston.  Before  it  fell  there 
was  a  session  in  May,  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses. 
The  social  position  of  Lord  Dunmore  had  been  strength 
ened  in  the  province  by  the  arrival  of  his  lady,  and  a 
numerous  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  The  old  Vir 
ginia  aristocracy  had  vied  with  each  other  in  hospitable 
attentions  to  the  family.  A  court  circle  had  sprung  up. 
Eegulations  had  been  drawn  up  by  a  herald,  and  pub 
lished  officially,  determining  the  rank  and  precedence  of 


440  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

civil  and  military  officers  and  their  wives.  The  aris 
tocracy  of  the  Ancient  Dominion  was  furbishing  up  its 
former  splendor.  Carriages  and  four  rolled  into  the 
streets  of  William sburg,  with  horses  handsomely  capari 
soned,  bringing  the  wealthy  planters  and  their  families 
to  the  seat  of  government. 

Washington  arrived  in  Williamsburg  on  the  16th,  and 
dined  with  the  governor  on  the  day  of  his  arrival,  hav 
ing  a  distinguished  position  in  the  court  circle,  and  being 
still  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  his  lordship.  The  House 
of  Burgesses  was  opened  in  form,  and  one  of  its  first 
measures  was  an  address  of  congratulation  to  the  gov 
ernor,  on  the  arrival  of  his  lady.  It  was  followed  up  by 
an  agreement  among  the  members  to  give  her  ladyship  a 
splendid  ball,  on  the  27th  of  the  month. 

All  things  were  going  on  smoothly  and  smilingly,  when 
a  letter,  received  through  the  corresponding  committee, 
brought  intelligence  of  the  vindictive  measure  of  Parlia 
ment,  by  which  the  port  of  Boston  was  to  be  closed  on 
the  approaching  1st  of  June. 

The  letter  was  read  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and 
produced  a  general  burst  of  indignation.  All  other  busi 
ness  was  thrown  aside,  and  this  became  the  sole  subject 
of  discussion.  A  protest  against  this  and  other  recent 
acts  of  Parliament  was  entered  upon  the  journal  of  the 
House,  and  a  resolution  was  adopted,  on  the  24th  of 
May,  setting  apart  the  1st  of  June  as  a  day  of  fasting, 
prayer,  and  humiliation;  in  which  the  divine  interposi- 


DENUNCIATION  OF  THE  BOSTON  PORT  BILL.    441 

tion  was  to  be  implored,  to  avert  the  heavy  calamity 
threatening  destruction  to  their  rights,  and  all  the  evils 
of  civil  war ;  and  to  give  the  people  one  heart  and  one 
mind  in  firmly  opposing  every  injury  to  American  lib 
erties. 

On  the  following  morning,  while  the  Burgesses  were 
engaged  in  animated  debate,  they  were  summoned  to 
attend  Lord  Duumore  in  the  council  chamber,  where  he 
made  them  the  following  laconic  speech  :  "  Mr.  Speaker, 
and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Burgesses :  I  have  in  my 
hand  a  paper,  published  by  order  of  your  House,  con 
ceived  in  such  terms  as  reflect  highly  upon  His  Majesty, 
and  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  which  makes  it 
necessary  for  me  to  dissolve  you,  and  you  are  dissolved 
accordingly." 

As  on  a  former  occasion,  the  Assembly,  though  dis 
solved,  was  not  dispersed.  The  members  adjourned  to 
the  long  room  of  the  old  Raleigh  tavern,  and  passed  res 
olutions,  denouncing  the  Boston  port  bill  as  a  most 
dangerous  attempt  to  destroy  the  constitutional  liberty 
and  rights  of  all  North  America;  recommending  their 
countrymen  to  desist  from  the  use,  not  merely  of  tea,  but 
of  all  kinds  of  East  Indian  commodities  ;  pronouncing  an 
attack  on  one  of  the  colonies,  to  enforce  arbitrary  taxes, 
an  attack  on  all ;  and  ordering  the  committee  of  corre 
spondence  to  communicate  with  the  other  corresponding 
committees,  on  the  expediency  of  appointing  deputies 
from  the  severa1  colonies  of  British  America,  to  meet 


442  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

annually  in  GENERAL  CONGRESS,  at  such  place  as  might  be 
deemed  expedient,  to  deliberate  on  such  measures  as  the 
united  interests  of  the  colonies  might  require. 

This  was  the  first  recommendation  of  a  General  Con 
gress  by  any  public  assembly,  though  it  had  been  pre 
viously  proposed  in  town  meetings  at  New  York  and 
Boston.  A  resolution  to  the  same  effect  was  passed  in 
the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  before  it  was  aware  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Virginia  Legislature.  The  measure 
recommended  met  with  prompt  and  general  concurrence 
throughout  the  colonies,  and  the  fifth  day  of  September 
next  ensuing  was  fixed  upon  for  the  first  Congress,  which 
was  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia. 

Notwithstanding  Lord  Dunmore's  abrupt  dissolution 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  the  members  still  continued 
on  courteous  terms  with  him,  and  the  ball  which  they  had 
decreed  early  in  the  session  in  honor  of  Lady  Dunmore, 
was  celebrated  on  the  27th  with  unwavering  gallantry. 

As  to  Washington,  widely  as  he  differed  from  Lord 
Dunmore  on  important  points  of  policy,  his  intimacy 
with  him  remained  uninterrupted.  By  memorandums  in 
his  diary  it  appears  that  he  dined  and  passed  the  even 
ing  at  his  lordship's  on  the  25th,  the  very  day  of  the 
meeting  at  the  Kaleigh  tavern;  that  he  roie  out  with 
him  to  his  farm,  and  breakfasted  there  with  him  on  the 
26th,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  27th  attended  the  ball 
given  to  her  ladyship.  Such  was  the  well-bred  decorum 
that  seemed  to  quiet  the  turbulence  of  popular  excite- 


USHERING  IN  THE  PORT  BILL.  443 

inent,  without  checking  the  full  and  firm  expression  of 
popular  opinion. 

On  the  29th,  two  days  after  the  ball,  letters  arrived 
from  Boston  giving  the  proceedings  of  a  town-meeting, 
reaommending  that  a  general  league  should  be  formed 
throughout  the  colonies  suspending  all  trade  with  Great 
Britain.  But  twenty-five  members  of  the  late  House  of 
Burgesses,  including  Washington,  were  at  that  time  re 
maining  in  Williamsburg.  They  held  a  meeting  on  the 
following  day,  at  which  Peyton  Kandolph  presided  as 
moderator.  After  some  discussion  it  was  determined  to 
issue  a  printed  circular,  bearing  their  signatures,  and 
calling  a  meeting  of  all  the  members  of  the  late  House 
of  Burgesses,  on  the  1st  of  August,  to  take  into  consid 
eration  this  measure  of  a  general  league.  The  circular 
recommended  them,  also,  to  collect,  in  the  meantime, 
the  sense  of  their  respective  counties. 

Washington  was  still  at  Williamsburg  on  the  1st  of 
June,  the  day  when  the  port  bill  was  to  be  enforced  at 
Boston.  It  was  ushered  in  by  the  tolling  of  bells,  and  ob 
served  by  all  true  patriots  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  humili 
ation.  Washington  notes  in  his  diary  that  he  fasted  rig« 
idly,  and  attended  the  services  appointed  in  the  church^ 
Still  his  friendly  intercourse  with  the  Dunmore  family 
was  continued  during  the  remainder  of  his  sojourn  in 
Williamsburg,  where  he  was  detained  by  business  until  the 
20th,  when  he  set  out  on  his  return  to  Mount  Vemon. 

In  the  meantime  the   Boston  port  bill  had  been  car* 


444  LIFE  OP  WASHINGTON. 

lied  into  effect.  On  the  1st  of  June  the  harbor  of  Boston 
was  closed  at  noon,  and  all  business  ceased.  The  two 
other  Parliamentary  acts  altering  the  charter  of  Massa 
chusetts  were  to  be  enforced.  No  public  meeting,  ex- 
cepting  the  annual  town  meetings  in  March  and  May, 
were  to  be  held  without  permission  of  the  governor. 

General  Thomas  Gage  had  recently  been  appointed  to 
the  military  command  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  carry 
ing  out  of  these  offensive  acts.  He  was  the  same  officer 
who,  as  lieutenant-colonel,  had  led  the  advance  guard  on 
the  field  of  Braddock's  defeat.  Fortune  had  since  gone 
well  with  him.  Rising  in  the  service,  he  had  been  gov 
ernor  of  Montreal,  and  had  succeeded  Amherst  in  the 
command  of  the  British  forces  on  this  continent.  He 
was  linked  to  the  country  also  by  domestic  ties,  having 
married  into  one  of  the  most  respectable  families  of 
New  Jersey.  In  the  various  situations  in  which  he  had 
hitherto  been  placed  he  had  won  esteem,  and  rendered 
himself  popular.  Not  much  was  expected  from  him  in 
his  present  post  by  those  who  knew  him  well.  William 
Smith,  the  historian,  speaking  of  him  to  Adams,  "  Gage," 
said  he,  "was  a  good-natured,  peaceable,  sociable  man 
while  here  (in  New  York),  but  altogether  unfit  for  a  gov 
ernor  of  Massachusetts.  He  will  lose  all  the  character  he 
has  acquired  as  a  man,  a  gentleman,  and  a  general,  and 
dwindle  down  into  a  mere  scribbling  governor — a  mere 
Bernard  or  Hutchinson." 

With  all  Gage's  experience  in  America,  he  had  formed 


"SOLEMN  LEAGUE  AND  COVENANT."  445 

a  most  erroneous  opinion  of  the  character  of  the  people. 
"The  Americans,"  said  he  to  the  king,  "will  be  lions 
only  as  long  as  the  English  are  lambs ; "  and  he  en 
gaged,  with  five  regiments,  to  keep  Boston  quiet ! 

The  manner  in  which  his  attempts  to  enforce  the 
recent  acts  of  Parliament  were  resented,  showed  how 
egregiously  he  was  in  error.  At  the  suggestion  of  the 
Assembly,  a  paper  was  circulated  through  the  province 
by  the  committee  of  correspondence,  entitled  "  a  solemn 
league  and  covenant,"  the  subscribers  to  which  bound 
themselves  to  break  off  all  intercourse  with  Great  Britain 
from  the  1st  of  August,  until  the  colony  should  be  re 
stored  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  chartered  rights ;  and  to 
renounce  all  dealings  with  those  who  should  refuse  to 
enter  into  this  compact. 

The  very  title  of  league  and  covenant  had  an  ominous 
sound,  and  startled  General  Gage.  He  issued  a  procla 
mation,  denouncing  it  as  illegal  and  traitorous.  Further 
more,  he  encamped  a  force  of  infantry  and  artillery  on 
Boston  Common,  as  if  prepared  to  enact  the  lion.  An 
alarm  spread  through  the  adjacent  country.  "  Boston  is 
to  be  blockaded !  Boston  is  to  be  reduced  to  obedience 
by  force  or  famine ! "  The  spirit  of  the  yeomanry  was 
aroused.  They  sent  in  word  to  the  inhabitants  promis 
ing  to  come  to  their  aid  if  necessary ;  and  urging  them 
to  stand  fast  to  the  faith.  Affairs  were  coming  to  a 
crisis.  It  was  predicted  that  the  new  acts  of  Parliament 
would  bring  on  "  a  most  important  and  decisive  trial." 


CHAPTEK  XXXIV. 


WASHINGTON  CHAIRMAN  OF  A  POLITICAL  MEETING.— CORRESPONDENCE  WITfl 
BRYAN  FAIRFAX. — PATRIOTIC  RESOLUTIONS. — WASHINGTON'S  OPINIONS  ON 
PUBLIC  AFFAIRS.— NON-IMPORTATION  SCHEME.— CONVENTION  AT  WILLIAMS- 
BURG. — WASHINGTON  APPOINTED  A  DELEGATE  TO  THE  GENERAL  CONGRESS. 
—LETTER  FROM  BRYAN  FAIRFAX.— PERPLEXITIES  OF  GENERAL  GAGE  AT 
BOSTON. 


HOETLY  after  Washington's  return  to  Mount 
Vernon,  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  he  presided 
as  a  moderator  at  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Fairfax  County,  wherein,  after  the  recent  acts  of  Par 
liament  had  been  discussed,  a  committee  was  appointed, 
with  himself  as  chairman,  to  draw  up  resolutions  ex 
pressive  of  the  sentiments  of  the  present  meeting, 
and  to  report  the  same  at  a  general  meeting  of  the 
county,  to  be  held  in  the  court-house  on  the  18th  of 
July. 

The  course  that  public  measures  were  taking  shocked 
the  loyal  feelings  of  Washington's  valued  friend,  Bryan 
Fairfax,  of  Tarlston  Hall,  a  younger  brother  of  George 
William,  who  was  absent  in  England.  He  was  a  man 
of  liberal  sentiments,  but  attached  to  the  ancient  rule; 
and,  in  a  letter  to  Washington,  advised  a  petition  to 

446 


PATRIOTIC  RESOLUTIONS.  447 

throne,  which  would  give  Parliament  an  opportunity  to 
repeal  the  offensive  acts. 

"  I  would  heartily  join  you  in  your  political  senti 
ments,"  writes  Washington  in  reply,  "as  far  as  relates 
to  a  humble  and  dutiful  petition  to  the  throne,  pro 
vided  there  was  the  most  distant  hope  of  success. 
But  have  we  not  tried  this  already?  Have  we  not  ad 
dressed  the  lords,  and  remonstrated  to  the  commons? 
And  to  what  end  ?  Does  it  not  appear  as  clear  as  the 
sun  in  its  meridian  brightness  that  there  is  a  regular, 
systematic  plan  to  fix  the  right  and  practice  of  taxation 
upon  us  ?  ....  Is  not  the  attack  upon  the  liberty  and 
property  of  the  people  of  Boston,  before  restitution  of 
the  loss  to  the  India  Company  was  demanded,  a  plain 
and  self-evident  proof  of  what  they  are  aiming  at  ?  Do 
not  the  subsequent  bills  for  depriving  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  of  its  charter,  and  for  transporting  offenders  to  other 
colonies  or  to  Great  Britain  for  trial,  where  it  is  impos 
sible,  from  the  nature  of  things,  that  justice  can  be  ob 
tained,  convince  us  that  the  administration  is  determined 
to  stick  at  nothing  to  carry  its  point  ?  Ought  we  not, 
then,  to  put  our  virtue  and  fortitude  to  the  severest 
tests?" 

The  committee  met  according  to  appointment,  with 
Washington  as  chairman.  The  resolutions  framed  at  the 
meeting  insisted,  as  usual,  on  the  right  of  self-govern 
ment,  and  the  principle  that  taxation  and  representation 
in  their  nature  inseparable.  That  the  various  acts 


448  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  Parliament  for  raising  revenue  ;  taking  away  trials  by 
jury ;  ordering  that  persons  might  be  tried  in  a  different 
country  than  that  in  which  the  cause  of  accusation  orig 
inated  ;  closing  the  port  of  Boston ;  abrogating  the  char 
ter  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  etc.,  etc., — were  all  part  of  a 
premeditated  design  and  system  to  introduce  arbitrary 
government  into  the  colonies.  That  the  sudden  and  re 
peated  dissolutions  of  Assemblies  whenever  they  pre 
sumed  to  examine  the  illegality  of  ministerial  mandates, 
or  deliberated  on  the  violated  rights  of  their  constitu 
ents,  were  part  of  the  same  system,  and  calculated  and 
intended  to  drive  the  people  of  the  colonies  to  a  state  of 
desperation,  and  to  dissolve  the  compact  by  which  their 
ancestors  bound  themselves  and  their  posterity  to  remain 
dependent  on  the  British  crown.  The  resolutions,  fur 
thermore,  recommended  the  most  perfect  union  and  co 
operation  among  the  colonies ;  solemn  covenants  with 
respect  to  non-importation  and  non-intercourse,  and  a 
renunciation  of  all  dealings  with  any  colony,  town,  or 
province,  that  should  refuse  to  agree  to  the  plan  adopted 
by  the  General  Congress. 

They  also  recommended  a  dutiful  petition  and  remon 
strance  from  the  Congress  to  the  king,  asserting  their 
constitutional  rights  and  privileges ;  lamenting  the  ne 
cessity  of  entering  into  measures  that  might  be  displeas 
ing;  declaring  their  attachment  to  his  person,  family, 
and  government,  and  their  desire  to  continue  in  depend 
ence  upon  Great  Britain ;  beseeching  him  not  to  reduce 


FAIRFAX'S  LETTER.  449 

his  faithful  subjects  of  America  to  desperation,  and  to 
reflect,  that /row  our  sovereign  there  CMU  IK  but  one  appe,al. 

These  resolutions  are  the  more  worthy  of  note  as  ex 
pressive  of  the  opinions  and  feelings  of  Washington  at 
this  eventful  time,  if  not  being  entirely  dictated  by  him. 
The  last  sentence  is  of  awful  import,  suggesting  the  pos 
sibility  of  being  driven  to  an  appeal  to  arms. 

Bryan  Fairfax,  who  was  aware  of  their  purport,  ad 
dressed  a  long  letter  to  Washington,  on  the  17th  of  July, 
the  day  preceding  that  in  which  they  were  to  be  reported 
by  the  committee,  stating  his  objections  to  several  of 
them,  and  requesting  that  his  letter  might  be  publicly 
read.  The  letter  was  not  received  until  after  the  commit 
tee  had  gone  to  the  court-house  on  the  18th,  with  the 
resolutions  revised,  corrected,  and  ready  to  be  reported. 
Washington  glanced  over  the  letter  hastily,  and  handed 
it  round  to  several  of  the  gentlemen  present.  They, 
with  one  exception,  advised  that  it  should  not  be  pub 
licly  read,  as  it  was  not  likely  to  make  any  converts,  and 
was  repugnant,  as  some  thought,  to  every  principle  they 
were  contending  for.  Washington  forbore,  therefore,  to 
give  it  any  further  publicity. 

The  resolutions  reported  by  the  committee  were 
adopted,  and  Washington  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  rep 
resent  the  county  at  the  General  Convention  of  the 
province,  to  be  held  at  Williamsburg  on  the  1st  of  Au 
gust.  After  the  meeting  had  adjourned,  he  felt  doubtful 
whether  Fairfax  might  not  be  dissatisfied  that  his  letter 
VOL.  i.— 29 


450  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

had  not  been  read,  as  he  requested,  to  the  county  at 
large;  he  wrote  to  him,  therefore,  explaining  the  cir 
cumstances  which  prevented  it ;  at  the  same  time  reply 
ing  to  some  of  the  objections  which  Fairfax  had  made 
to  certain  of  the  resolutions.  He  reiterated  his  belief 
that  an  appeal  would  be  ineffectual.  "What  is  it  we 
are  contending  against  ?  "  asked  he.  "  Is  it  against  pay 
ing  the  duty  of  threepence  per  pound  on  tea  because 
burdensome  ?  No,  it  is  the  right  only,  that  we  have  all 
along  disputed ;  and  to  this  end,  we  have  already  peti 
tioned  His  Majesty  in  as  humble  and  dutiful  a  manner 
as  subjects  could  do.  Nay,  more,  we  applied  to  the 
House  of  Lords  and  House  of  Commons  in  their  different 
legislative  capacities,  setting  forth  that,  as  Englishmen, 
we  could  not  be  deprived  of  this  essential  and  valuable 

part  of  our  constitution 

"  The  conduct  of  the  Boston  people  could  not  justify 
the  rigor  of  their  measures,  unless  there  had  been  a 
requisition  of  payment,  and  refusal  of  it;  nor  did  that 
conduct  require  an  act  to  deprive  the  government  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  of  their  charter,  or  to  exempt  offend 
ers  from  trial  in  the  places  where  offenses  were  commit 
ted,  as  there  was  not,  not  could  there  be,  a  single  in 
stance  produced  to  manifest  the  necessity  of  it.  Are  not 
all  these  things  evident  proofs  of  a  fixed  and  uniform 
plan  to  tax  us  ?  If  we  want  further  proofs,  do  not  all  the 
debates  in  the  House  of  Commons  serve  to  confirm  this  ? 
And  has  not  General  Gage's  conduct  since  his  arrival, 


THE  NON-IMPORTATION  SCHEME.  451 

in  stopping  the  address  of  his  council,  and  publishing  a 
proclamation,  more  becoming  a  Turkish  bashaw  than  an 
English  governor,  declaring  it  treason  to  associate  in  any 
manner  by  which  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain  is  to  be 
affected, — has  not  this  exhibited  an  unexampled  testi^ 
mony  of  the  most  despotic  system  of  tyranny  that  evei 
was  practiced  in  a  free  government  ?  " 

The  popular  measure  on  which  Washington  laid  the 
greatest  stress  as  a  means  of  obtaining  redress  from  gov 
ernment,  was  the  non-importation  scheme ;  "  for  I  am 
convinced,"  said  he,  "  as  much  as  of  my  existence,  that 
there  is  no  relief  for  us  but  in  their  distress ;  and  I  think 
— at  least  I  hope — that  there  is  public  virtue  enough  left 
among  us  to  deny  ourselves  everything  but  the  bare 
necessaries  of  life  to  accomplish  this  end.  At  the  same 
time,  he  forcibly  condemned  a  suggestion  that  remit 
tances  to  England  should  be  withheld.  "While  we  are 
accusing  others  of  injustice,"  said  he  "  we  should  be  just 
ourselves ;  and  how  this  can  be  whilst  we  owe  a  consid 
erable  debt,  and  refuse  payment  of  it  to  Great  Britain  is 
to  me  inconceivable :  nothing  but  the  last  extremity  can 
justify  it." 

On  the  1st  of  August,  the  convention  of  representa 
tives  from  all  parts  of  Virginia  assembled  at  Williams- 
burg.  Washington  appeared  on  behalf  of  Fairfax  County, 
and  presented  the  resolutions  already  cited,  as  the  sense 
of  his  constituents.  He  is  said,  by  one  who  was  present, 
to  have  spoken  in  support  of  them  in  a  strain  of  uncom- 


452  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

mon  eloquence,  which  shows  how  his  latent  ardor  had 
been  excited  on  the  occasion,  as  eloquence  was  not  in 
general  among  his  attributes.  It  is  evident,  however, 
that  he  was  roused  to  an  unusual  pitch  of  enthusiasm, 
for  he  is  said  to  have  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  raise 
one  thousand  men,  subsist  them  at  his  own  expense,  and 
march  at  their  head  to  the  relief  of  Boston.* 

The  Convention  was  six  days  in  session.  Resolutions, 
in  the  same  spirit  with  those  passed  in  Fairfax  County, 
were  adopted,  and  Peyton  Randolph,  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Richard  Bland, 
Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Edmund  Pendleton,  were  ap 
pointed  delegates,  to  represent  the  people  of  Virginia  in 
the  General  Congress. 

Shortly  after  Washington's  return  from  Williamsburg, 
he  received  a  reply  from  Bryan  Fairfax,  to  his  last  letter. 
Fairfax,  who  was  really  a  man  of  liberal  views,  seemed 
anxious  to  vindicate  himself  from  any  suspicion  of  the 
contrary.  In  adverting  to  the  partial  suppression  of  his 
letter,  by  some  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  committee :  "  I 
am  uneasy  to  find,"  writes  he,  "  that  any  one  should  look 
upon  the  letter  sent  down  as  repugnant  to  the  principles 
we  are  contending  for ;  and,  therefore,  when  you  have 
leisure,  I  shall  take  it  as  a  favor  if  you  will  let  me  know 
wherein  it  was  thought  so.  I  beg  leave  to  look  upon 
you  as  a  friend,  and  it  is  a  great  relief  to  unbosom  one's 

*  See  information  given  to  the  elder  Adams,  by  Mr.  Lynch  of  South 
Carolina. — Adams'  Diary. 


LETTER  TO  FAIRFAX.  453 

thoughts  to  a  friend.  Besides,  the  information,  and  the 
correction  of  my  errors,  which  I  may  obtain  from  a  cor 
respondence,  are  great  inducements  to  it.  For  I  am  con 
vinced  that  no  man  in  the  colony  wishes  its  prosperity 
more,  would  go  greater  lengths  to  serve  it,  or  is,  at  the 
same  time,  a  better  subject  to  the  crown.  Pray  excuse 
these  compliments,  they  may  be  tolerable  from  a  friend."  * 
The  hurry  of  various  occupations  prevented  Washing 
ton,  in  his  reply,  from  entering  into  any  further  discus 
sion  of  the  popular  theme.  "  I  can  only  in  general  add," 
said  he,  "  that  an  innate  spirit  of  freedom  first  told  me 
that  the  measures  which  the  administration  have  for 
some  time  been,  and  now  are  violently  pursuing,  are  op 
posed  to  every  principle  of  natural  justice ;  whilst  much 
abler  heads  than  my  own  have  fully  convinced  me,  that 
they  are  not  only  repugnant  to  natural  right,  but  subver 
sive  of  the  laws  and  constitution  of  Great  Britain  itself. 
....  I  shall  conclude  by  remarking  that,  if  you  dis 
avow  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  us,  unrepresented  as 
we  are,  we  only  differ  in  the  mode  of  opposition,  and  this 
difference  principally  arises  from  your  belief  that  they 
(the  Parliament  I  mean),  want  a  decent  opportunity  to 
repeal  the  acts ;  whilst  I  am  fully  convinced  that  there 
has  been  a  regular  systematic  plan  to  enforce  them,  and 
that  nothing  but  unanimity  and  firmness  in  the  colonies, 
which  they  did  not  expect,  can  prevent  it.  By  the  best 

*  Sparks.     Washington's  Writings,  vol.  ii.  p.  329. 


454  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

advices  from  Boston,  it  seems  that  General  Gage  is  ex 
ceedingly  disconcerted  at  the  quiet  and  steady  conduct 
of  the  people  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  at  the  meas 
ures  pursuing  by  the  other  governments.  I  dare  say  he 
expected  to  force  those  oppressed  people  into  compli 
ance,  or  irritate  them  to  acts  of  violence  before  this,  for 
a  more  colorable  pretense  of  ruling  that,  and  the  other 
colonies,  with  a  high  hand." 

Washington  had  formed  a  correct  opinion  of  General 
Gage.  From  the  time  of  taking  command  at  Boston,  he 
had  been  perplexed  how  to  manage  its  inhabitants.  Had 
they  been  hot-headed,  impulsive,  and  prone  to  paroxysm, 
his  task  would  have  been  comparatively  easy ;  but  it  was 
the  cool,  shrewd  common  sense,  by  which  all  their  move 
ments  were  regulated,  that  confounded  him. 

High-handed  measures  had  failed  of  the  anticipated 
effect.  Their  harbor  had  been  thronged  with  ships; 
their  town  with  troops.  The  port  bill  had  put  an  end 
to  commerce;  wharves  were  deserted,  warehouses  closed; 
streets  grass-grown  and  silent.  The  rich  were  growing 
poor,  and  the  poor  were  without  employ  ;  yet  the  spirit 
of  the  people  was  unbroken.  There  was  no  uproar,  how 
ever  ;  no  riots ;  everything  was  awfully  systematic  and 
according  to  rule.  Town  meetings  were  held,  in  which 
public  rights  and  public  measures  were  eloquently  dis 
cussed  by  John  Adams,  Josiah  Quincy,  and  other  emi 
nent  men.  Over  these  meetings  Samuel  Adams  presided 
as  moderator ;  a  man  clear  in  judgment,  calm  in  conduct, 


GAGE'S  DILEMMA  455 

inflexible  in  resolution;  deeply  grounded  in  civil  and 
political  history,  and  infallible  on  all  points  of  constitu 
tional  law. 

Alarmed  at  the  powerful  influence  of  these  assem 
blages,  government  issued  an  act  prohibiting  them  after 
the  1st  of  August.  The  act  was  evaded  by  convoking  the 
meetings  before  that  day,  and  Iceeping  them  alive  indefin 
itely.  Gage  was  at  a  loss  how  to  act.  It  would  not  do 
to  disperse  these  assemblages  by  force  of  arms ;  for,  the 
people  who  composed  them  mingled  the  soldier  with  the 
polemic ;  and,  like  their  prototypes,  the  Covenanters  of 
yore,  if  prone  to  argue,  were  as  ready  to  fight.  So  the 
meetings  continued  to  be  held  pertinaciously.  Faneuil 
Hall  was  at  times  unable  to  hold  them,  and  they 
swarmed  from  that  revolutionary  hive  into  old  South 
Church.  The  liberty-tree  became  a  rallying  place  for 
any  popular  movement,  and  a  flag  hoisted  on  it  was 
saluted  by  all  processions  as  the  emblem  of  the  popular 
cause. 

Opposition  to  the  new  plan  of  government  assumed  a 
more  violent  aspect  at  the  extremity  of  the  province,  and 
was  abetted  by  Connecticut.  "  It  is  very  high,"  writes 
Gage  (August  27th),  "in  Berkshire  County,  and  makes 
way  rapidly  to  the  rest.  At  Worcester  they  threaten 
resistance,  purchase  arms,  provide  powder,  cast  balls, 
and  threaten  to  attack  any  troops  who  may  oppose  them. 
I  apprehend  I  shall  soon  have  to  march  a  body  of  troops 
into  that  township." 


OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  time  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Congress  at  Philadelphia  was  now  at  hand.  Delegates 
had  already  gone  on  from  Massachusetts.  "It  is  not 
possible  to  guess,"  writes  Gage,  "  what  a  body  composed 
of  such  heterogeneous  matter  will  determine ;  but  the 
members  from  hence,  I  am  assured,  will  promote  the 
most  haughty  and  insolent  resolves ;  for  their  plan  has 
ever  been,  by  threats  and  high-sounding  sedition,  to  ter 
rify  and  intimidate." 


CHAPTEE  XXXV. 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIRST  CONGRESS.— OPENING  CEREMONIES.— ELOQUENCE  O» 
PATRICK  HENRY  AND  HENRY  LEE.— DECLARATORY  RESOLUTION.— BILL  OP 
RIGHTS.— STATE  PAPERS.  —CHATHAM'S  OPINIONS  OF  CONGRESS.  —WASHING 
TON'S  CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  CAPT.  MACKENZIE.— VIEWS  WITH  BBSPBCT 
TO  INDEPENDENCE.— DEPARTURE  OF  FAIRFAX  FOR  ENGLAND. 


HEN  the  time  approached  for  the  meeting  of 
the  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  Wash 
ington  was  joined  at  Mount  Vernon  by  Patrick 
Henry  and  Edmund  Pendleton,  and  they  performed  the 
journey  together  on  horseback.  It  was  a  noble  com 
panionship.  Henry  was  then  in  the  youthful  vigor  and 
elasticity  of  his  bounding  genius ;  ardent,  acute,  fanciful, 
eloquent.  Pendleton,  schooled  in  public  life,  a  veteran 
in  council,  with  native  force  of  intellect,  and  habits  of 
deep  reflection.  "Washington,  in  the  meridian  of  his 
days,  mature  in  wisdom,  comprehensive  in  mind,  saga 
cious  in  foresight.  Such  were  the  apostles  of  liberty, 
repairing  on  their  august  pilgrimage  to  Philadelphia 
from  all  parts  of  the  land,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a 
mighty  empire.  Well  may  we  say  of  that  p^entful 
period,  "  There  were  giants  in  those  days." 

Congress  assembled  on  Monday,  the  5th  of  September, 

457 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

in  a  large  room  in  Carpenter's  Hall.  There  were  fifty* 
one  delegates,  representing  all  the  colonies  excepting 
Georgia. 

The  meeting  has  been  described  as  "  awfully  solemn." 
The  most  eminent  men  of  the  various  colonies  were  now 
for  the  first  time  brought  together ;  they  were  known  to 
each  other  by  fame,  but  were,  personally,  strangers.  The 
object  which  had  called  them  together  was  of  incalcula 
ble  magnitude.  The  liberties  of  no  less  than  three  mill 
ions  of  people,  with  that  of  all  their  posterity,  were 
staked  on  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  their  councils.* 

"It  is  such  an  assembly,"  writes  John  Adams,  who 
was  present,  "  as  never  before  came  together  on  a  sud 
den,  in  any  part  of  the  world.  Here  are  fortunes,  abili 
ties,  learning,  eloquence,  acuteness,  equal  to  any  I  ever 
met  with  in  my  life.  Here  is  a  diversity  of  religions, 
educations,  manners,  interests,  such  as  it  would  seem 
impossible  to  unite  in  one  plan  of  conduct." 

There  being  an  inequality  in  the  number  of  delegates 
from  the  different  colonies,  a  question  arose  as  to  the 
mode  of  voting ;  whether  by  colonies,  by  the  poll,  or  by 
interests. 

Patrick  Henry  scouted  the  idea  of  sectional  distinc 
tions,  or  individual  interests.  "All  America,"  said  he, 
"  is  thrown  into  one  mass.  Where  are  your  landmarks — 
your  boundaries  of  colonies?  They  are  all  thrown  down. 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  H&nry,  p.  224. 


PRA  TERS  IN  CONGRESS.  459 

The  distinctions  between  Virginians,  Pennsylvanians, 
New  Yorkers,  and  New  Englanders,  are  no  more.  /  am 
not  a  Virginian,  but  an  American."  * 

After  some  debate  it  was  determined  that  each  colony 
should  have  but  one  vote,  whatever  might  be  the  number 
of  its  delegates.  The  deliberations  of  the  House  were 
to  be  with  closed  doors,  and  nothing  but  the  resolves 
promulgated,  unless  by  order  of  the  majority. 

To  give  proper  dignity  and  solemnity  to  the  proceed 
ings  of  the  House,  it  was  moved  on  the  following  day, 
that  each  morning  the  session  should  be  opened  by 
prayer.  To  this  it  was  demurred,  that  as  the  delegates 
were  of  different  sects,  they  might  not  consent  to  join 
in  the  same  form  of  worship. 

Upon  this,  Mr.  Samuel  Adams  arose  and  said :  "  He 
would  willingly  join  in  prayer  with  any  gentleman  of 
piety  and  virtue,  whatever  might  be  his  cloth,  provided 
he  was  a  friend  of  his  country ; "  and  he  moved  that  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Duche,  of  Philadelphia,  who  answered  to 
that  description,  might  be  invited  to  officiate  as  chaplain. 
This  was  one  step  towards  unanimity  of  feeling,  Mr. 
Adams  being  a  strong  Congregationalist,  and  Mr.  Duche 
an  eminent  Episcopalian  clergyman.  The  motion  was 
carried  into  effect;  the  invitation  was  given  and  ac 
cepted. 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  a  rumor  reached  Philadel« 

*  J.  Adams'  Diary. 


460  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

phia  that  Boston  had  been  cannonaded  by  the  British. 
It  produced  a  strong  sensation ;  and  when  Congress  met 
on  the  following  morning  (7th),  the  effect  was  visible  in 
every  countenance.  The  delegates  from  the  east  were 
, greeted  with  a  warmer  grasp  of  the  hand  by  their  asso 
ciates  from  the  south. 

The  Beverend  Mr.  Duche,  according  to  invitation,  ap 
peared  in  his  canonicals,  attended  by  his  clerk.  The 
morning  service  of  the  Episcopal  Church  was  read  with 
great  solemnity,  the  clerk  making  the  responses.  The 
Psalter  for  the  7th  day  of  the  month  includes  the  35th 
Psalm,  wherein  David  prays  for  protection  against  his 
enemies. 

"  Plead  my  cause,  O  Lord,  with  them  that  strive  with 
me  ;  fight  against  them  that  fight  against  me. 

"  Take  hold  of  shield  and  buckler,  and  stand  up  for 
my  help. 

"  Draw  out,  also,  the  spear,  and  stop  the  way  of  them 
that  persecute  me.  Say  unto  my  soul,  I  am  thy  salva 
tion,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  imploring  words  of  this  psalm,  spoke  the  feelings 
of  all  hearts  present ;  but  especially  of  those  from  New 
England.  John  Adams  writes  in  a  letter  to  his  wife : 
"  You  must  remember  this  was  the  morning  after  we  heard 
the  horrible  rumor  of  the  cannonade  of  Boston.  I  never 
saw  a  greater  effect  upon  an  audience.  It  seemed  as  if 
heaven  had  ordained  that  psalm  to  be  read  on  that 
morning.  After  this,  Mr.  Duche  unexpectedly  struck 


IMPRESSIVE  PROCEEDINGS.  461 

out  into  an  extemporary  prayer,  which  filled  the  bosom 
of  every  man  present.  Episcopalian  as  he  is,  Dr.  Cooper 
himself  never  prayed  with  such  fervor,  such  ardor,  such 
earnestness  and  pathos,  and  in  language  so  eloquent  and 
sublime,  for  America,  for  the  Congress,  for  the  province 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  especially  the  town  of  Boston. 
It  has  had  an  excellent  effect  upon  everybody  here."  * 

It  has  been  remarked  that  Washington  was  especially 
devout  on  this  occasion — kneeling,  while  others  stood  up. 
In  this,  however,  each,  no  doubt,  observed  the  attitude  in 
prayer  to  which  he  was  accustomed.  Washington  knelt, 
being  an  Episcopalian. 

The  rumored  attack  upon  Boston  rendered  the  service 
of  the  day  deeply  affecting  to  all  present.  They  were  one 
political  family,  actuated  by  one  feeling,  and  sympathiz 
ing  with  the  weal  and  woe  of  each  individual  member. 
The  rumor  proved  to  be  erroneous ;  but  it  had  produced  a 
most  beneficial  effect  in  calling  forth  and  quickening  the 
spirit  of  union,  so  vitally  important  in  that  assemblage. 

Owing  to  closed  doors,  and  the  want  of  reporters,  no 
record  exists  of  the  discussions  and  speeches  made  in 
the  first  Congress.  Mr.  Wirt,  speaking  from  tradition, 
informs  us  that  a  long  and  deep  silence  followed  the  or 
ganization  of  that  august  body ;  the  members  looking 
round  upon  each  other,  individually  reluctant  to  open 
a  business  so  fearfully  momentous.  This  "deep  and 

*  John  Adams'  Correspondence  and  Diary. 


£62  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

deathlike  silence "  was  beginning  to  become  painfully 
embarrassing,  when  Patrick  Henry  arose.  He  faltered 
at  first,  as  was  his  habit ;  but  his  exordium  was  impres 
sive  ;  and  as  he  launched  forth  into  a  recital  of  colonial 
wrongs  he  kindled  with  his  subject,  until  he  poured  forth 
one  of  those  eloquent  appeals  which  had  so  often  shaken 
the  House  of  Burgesses  and  gained  him  the  fame  of  be 
ing  the  greatest  orator  of  Virginia.  He  sat  down,  ac 
cording  to  <Mr.  Wirt,  amidst  murmurs  of  astonishment 
and  applause,  and  was  now  admitted,  on  every  hand,  to 
be  the  first  orator  of  America.  He  was  followed  by 
Bichard  Henry  Lee,  who,  according  to  the  same  writer, 
charmed  the  House  with  a  different  kind  of  eloquence, 
chaste  and  classical ;  contrasting,  in  its  cultivated  graces, 
with  the  wild  and  grand  effusions  of  Henry.  "  The  supe 
rior  powers  of  these  great  men,  however,"  adds  he,  "were 
manifested  only  in  debate,  and  while  general  grievances 
were  the  topic;  when  called  down  from  the  heights  of 
declamation  to  that  severer  test  of  intellectual  excellence, 
the  details  of  business,  they  found  themselves  in  a  body 
of  cool-headed,  reflecting,  and  most  able  men,  by  whom 
they  were,  in  their  turn,  completely  thrown  into  the 
shade."* 

The  first  public  measure  of  Congress  was  a  resolution 
declaratory  of  their  feelings  with  regard  to  the  recent 
acts  of  Parliament,  violating  the  rights  of  the  people  oi 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Hewry. 


DOINGS  OF  CONGRESS.  463 

Massachusetts,  and  of  their  determination  to  combine  in 
resisting  any  force  that  might  attempt  to  carry  those  acts 
into  execution. 

A  committee  of  two  from  each  province  reported  a 
series  of  resolutions,  which  were  adopted  by  Congress, 
as  a  "  declaration  of  colonial  rights." 

In  this  were  enumerated  their  natural  rights  to  the 
enjoyment  of  life,  liberty,  and  property ;  and  their  rights 
as  British  subjects.  Among  the  latter  was  participation 
in  legislative  councils.  This  they  could  not  exercise 
through  representatives  in  Parliament;  they  claimed, 
therefore,  the  power  of  legislating  in  their  provincial 
Assemblies,  consenting,  however,  to  such  acts  of  Parlia 
ment  as  might  be  essential  to  the  regulation  of  trade ; 
but  excluding  all  taxation,  internal  or  external,  for  rais 
ing  revenue  in  America. 

The  common  law  of  England  was  claimed  as  a  birth 
right,  including  the  right  of  trial  by  a  jury  of  the  vicin 
age  ;  of  holding  public  meetings  to  consider  grievances ; 
and  of  petitioning  the  king.  The  benefits  of  all  such 
statutes  as  existed  at  the  time  of  the  colonization  were 
likewise  claimed,  together  with  the  immunities  and  priv 
ileges  granted  by  royal  charters,  or  secured  by  provin 
cial  laws. 

The  maintenance  of  a  standing  army  in  any  colony  in 
time  of  peace,  without  the  consent  of  its  legislature,  was 
pronounced  contrary  to  law.  The  exercise  of  the  legis 
lative  power  in  the  colonies  by  a  council  appointed  dur- 


464  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ing  pleasure  by  the  crown,  was  declared  to  be  unconsti 
tutional,  and  destructive  to  the  freedom  of  American 
legislation. 

Then  followed  a  specification  of  the  acts  of  Parliament, 
passed  during  the  reign  of  George  III.,  infringing  and 
violating  these  rights.  These  were  :  the  sugar  act ;  the 
stamp  act;  the  two  acts  for  quartering  troops;  the  tea 
act ;  the  act  suspending  the  New  York  Legislature ;  the 
cwo  acts  for  the  trial  in  Great  Britain  of  offenses  com 
mitted  in  America;  the  Boston  port  bill;  the  act  for 
regulating  the  government  of  Massachusetts,  and  the 
Quebec  act. 

"  To  these  grievous  acts  and  measures,"  it  was  added, 
'•Americans  cannot  submit;  but  in  hopes  their  fellow- 
subjects  in  Great  Britain  will,  on  a  revision  of  them, 
restore  us  to  that  state  in  which  both  countries  found 
happiness  and  prosperity,  we  have,  for  the  present,  only 
resolved  to  pursue  the  following  peaceable  measures  : — 

"1st.  To  enter  into  a  non-importation,  non-consump 
tion,  and  non-exportation  agreement,  or  association. 

"2d.  To  prepare  an  address  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain,  and  a  memorial  to  the  inhabitants  of  British 
America. 

"  3d.  To  prepare  a  loyal  address  to  His  Majesty." 

The  above  -  mentioned  association  was  accordingly 
formed,  and  committees  were  to  be  appointed  in  every 
county,  city,  and  town,  to  maintain  it  vigilantly  and 
strictly. 


CHATHAM  ON  THE  CONGRESS.  465 

Masterly  state  papers  were  issued  by  Congress  in  con 
formity  to  the  resolutions ;  namely,  a  petition  to  the  king, 
drafted  by  Mr.  Dickinson  of  Philadelphia ;  an  address  to 
the  people  of  Canada  by  the  same  hand,  inviting  them  to 
ioin  the  league  of  the  colonies ;  another  to  the  people  of 
Great  Britain,  drafted  by  John  Jay  of  New  York ;  and  a 
memorial  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  colonies,  by 
Richard  Henry  Lee  of  Virginia.* 

The  Congress  remained  in  session  fifty-one  days. 
Every  subject,  according  to  Adams,  was  discussed  "  with 
a  moderation,  an  acuteness,  and  a  minuteness  equal  to 
that  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  privy  council."  t  The  papers 
issued  by  it  have  deservedly  been  pronounced  master 
pieces  of  practical  talent  and  political  wisdom.  Chatham, 
when  speaking  on  the  subject  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
could  not  restrain  his  enthusiasm.  "When  your  lord 
ships,"  said  he,  "look  at  the  papers  transmitted  to  us 
from  America ;  when  you  consider  their  decency,  firm 
ness,  and  wisdom,  you  cannot  but  respect  their  cause, 
and  wish  to  make  it  your  own.  For  myself,  I  must  de 
clare  and  avow  that,  in  the  master  states  of  the  world,  I 
know  not  the  people,  or  senate,  who,  in  such  a  complica 
tion  of  difficult  circumstances,  can  stand  in  preference  to 
the  delegates  of  America  assembled  in  General  Congress 
at  Philadelphia." 

From  the  secrecy  that  enveloped  its  discussions,  we  are 

*  See  Correspondence  and  Diary  of  J.  Adams,  vols.  ii.  and  ix. 
f  Letter  to  William  Tudor,  26th  of  Sept.,  1774. 
VOL.  i.— 30 


466  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ignorant  of  the  part  taken  by  Washington  in  the  debates , 
the  similarity  of  the  resolutions,  however,  in  spirit  and 
substance  to  those  of  the  Fairfax  County  meeting,  in 
which  he  presided,  and  the  coincidence  of  the  measures 
adopted  with  those  therein  recommended,  show  that  he 
had  a  powerful  agency  in  the  whole  proceedings  of  this 
eventful  assembly.  Patrick  Henry,  being  asked,  on  his 
return  home,  whom  he  considered  the  greatest  man  in 
Congress,  replied :  "  If  you  speak  of  eloquence,  Mr.  Rut- 
ledge,  of  South  Carolina,  is  by  far  the  greatest  orator; 
but  if  you  speak  of  solid  information  and  sound  judg 
ment,  Colonel  Washington  is  unquestionably  the  greatest 
man  on  that  floor." 

How  thoroughly  and  zealously  he  participated  in  the 
feelings  which  actuated  Congress  in  this  memorable  ses 
sion  may  be  gathered  from  his  correspondence  with  a 
friend  enlisted  in  the  royal  cause.  This  was  Captain 
Robert  Mackenzie,  who  had  formerly  served  under  him 
in  his  Virginia  regiment  during  the  French  war,  but  now 
held  a  commission  in  the  regular  army,  and  was.  sta 
tioned  among  the  British  troops  at  Boston. 

Mackenzie,  in  a  letter,  had  spoken  with  loyal  abhor 
rence  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  "  unhappy  province  " 
of  Massachusetts,  and  the  fixed  aim  of  its  inhabitants  at 
"total  independence."  "The  rebellious  and  numerous 
meetings  of  men  in  arms,"  said  he,  "their  scandalous 
and  ungenerous  attacks  upon  the  best  characters  in  the 
province,  obliging  them  to  save  themselves  by  flight,  and 


LETTER  TO  CAPT.  MACKENZIE.  467 

their  repeated,  but  feeble  threats,  to  dispossess  the 
troops,  have  furnished  sufficient  reasons  to  General  Gage 
to  put  the  town  in  a  formidable  state  of  defense,  about 
which  we  are  now  fully  employed,  and  which  will  be 
shortly  accomplished  to  their  great  mortification." 

"Permit  me,"  writes  Washington  in  reply,  "with  the 
freedom  of  a  friend  (for  you  know  I  always  esteemed 
you),  to  express  my  sorrow  that  fortune  should  place  you 
in  a  service  that  must  fix  curses,  to  the  latest  posterity, 
upon  the  contrivers,  and,  if  success  (which,  by  the  by,  is 
impossible)  accompanies  it,  execrations  upon  all  those 

who  have  been  instrumental  in  the  execution 

When  you  condemn  the  conduct  of  the  Massachusetts 
people,  you  reason  from  effects,  not  causes,  otherwise 
you  would  not  wonder  at  a  people,  who  are  every  day 
receiving  fresh  proofs  of  a  systematic  assertion  of  an 
arbitrary  power,  deeply  planned  to  overturn  the  laws 
and  constitution  of  their  country,  and  to  violate  the  most 
essential  and  valuable  rights  of  mankind,  being  irritated, 
and  with  difficulty  restrained  from  acts  of  the  greatest 
violence  and  intemperance. 

"For  my  own  part,  I  view  things  in  a  very  different 
point  of  light  from  the  one  in  which  you  seem  to  con 
sider  them ;  and  though  you  are  led  to  believe,  by  venal 
men,  that  the  people  of  Massachusetts  are  rebellious, 
setting  up  for  independency,  and  what  not,  give  me  leave, 
my  good  friend,  to  tell  you  that  you  are  abused,  grossly 
abused.  .  ,  ,  .  I  think  I  can  announce  it  as  a  fact,  that 


468  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

it  is  not  the  wish  or  interest  of  that  government,  or  any 
other  upon  this  continent,  separately  or  collectively,  tc 
set  up  for  independence ;  but  this  you  may  at  the  same 
time  rely  on,  that  none  of  them  will  ever  submit  to  the 
loss  of  their  valuable  rights  and  privileges,  which  are  es 
sential  to  the  happiness  of  every  free  state,  and  without 
which,  life,  liberty,  and  property  are  rendered  totally 
insecure. 

"These,  sir,  being  certain  consequences,  which  must 
naturally  result  from  the  late  acts  of  Parliament  relative 
to  America  in  general,  and  the  government  of  Massachu 
setts  in  particular,  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  men  who 
wish  to  avert  the  impending  blow,  should  attempt  to 
oppose  its  progress,  or  prepare  for  their  defense,  if  it 
cannot  be  averted  ?  Surely  I  may  be  allowed  to  answer 
in  the  negative ;  and  give  me  leave  to  add,  as  my  opin 
ion,  that  more  blood  will  be  spilled  on  this  occasion, 
if  the  ministry  are  determined  to  push  matters  to  ex 
tremity,  than  history  has  ever  yet  furnished  instances 
of  in  the  annals  of  North  America;  and  such  a  vital 
wound  will  be  given  to  the  peace  of  this  great  coun 
try,  as  time  itself  cannot  cure,  or  eradicate  the  remem 
brance  of." 

£n  concluding,  he  repeats  his  views  with  respect  to 

ndependence :  "  I  am  well  satisfied  that  no  such  thing 

is  desired  by  any  thinking  man  in  all  North  America ;  on 

the  contrary,  that  it  is  the  ardent  wish  of  the  warmest 

advocates  for  liberty,  that  peace  and  tranquillity,  upon 


GEORGE   WILLIAM  FAIRFAX.  469 

constitutional  grounds,  may  be  restored,  and  the  horrors 
of  civil  discord  prevented."  * 

This  letter  we  have  considered  especially  worthy  of 
citation,  from  its  being  so  full  and  explicit  a  declaration 
of  Washington's  sentiments  and  opinions  at  this  critical 
juncture.  His  views  on  the  question  of  independence 
are  particularly  noteworthy,  from  his  being  at  this  time 
in  daily  and  confidential  communication  with  the  leaders 
of  the  popular  movement,  and  among  them  with  the 
delegates  from  Boston.  It  is  evident  that  the  filial  feel 
ing  still  throbbed  toward  the  mother  country,  and  a 
complete  separation  from  her  had  not  yet  entered  into 
the  alternatives  of  her  colonial  children. 

On  the  breaking  up  of  Congress,  Washington  hastened 
back  to  Mount  Yernon,  where  his  presence  was  more 
than  usually  important  to  the  happiness  of  Mrs.  Wash 
ington,  from  the  loneliness  caused  by  the  recent  death 
of  her  daughter,  and  the  absence  of  her  son.  The  cheer 
fulness  of  the  neighborhood  had  been  diminished  of  late 
by  the  departure  of  George  William  Fairfax  for  England, 
to  take  possession  of  estates  which  had  devolved  to  him 
in  that  kingdom.  His  estate  of  Belvoir,  so  closely  allied 
to  that  of  Mount  Vernon  by  family  ties  and  reciprocal 
hospitality,  was  left  in  charge  of  a  steward  or  overseer. 
Through  some  accident  the  house  took  fire,  and  was 
burnt  to  the  ground.  It  was  never  rebuilt.  The  course 

*  Sparks.     Washington's  Writings,  vol.  ii.  p.  899. 


470  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  political  events  which  swept  Washington  from  his  quiet 
home  into  the  current  of  public  and  military  life,  pre 
vented  William  Fairfax,  who  was  a  royalist,  though  a 
liberal  one,  from  returning  to  his  once  happy  abode,  and 
the  hospitable  intercommunion  of  Mount  Yernon  and 
Belvoir  was  at  an  end  forever. 


CH4PTEB  XXXVI 

a  4GB1 8  MILITARY  MEASURES. — REMOVAL  OF  GUNPOWDER  FROM  THE  ARSENAI* 
—PUBLIC  AGITATION.  —  ALARMS  IN  THE  COUNTRY.  —  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT 
OBSTRUCTED.  —  BELLIGERENT  SYMPTOMS.  —  ISRAEL  PUTNAM  AND  GENERAL 
CHARLES  LEE,  THEIR  CHARACTERS  AND  STORIES.  —  GENERAL  ELECTION.— 
SELF-CONSTITUTED  CONGRESS. — HANCOCK  PRESIDENT. — ADJOURNS  TO  CON 
CORD. — REMONSTRANCE  TO  GAGE. — HIS  PERPLEXITIES. — GENERALS  ARTEMAS 
WARD  AND  SETH  POMEROY.— COMMITTEE  OF  SAFETY.— COMMITTEE  OF  SUP 
PLIES. — RESTLESSNESS  THROUGHOUT  THE  LAND. — INDEPENDENT  COMPANIES 
IN  VIRGINIA. — MILITARY  TONE  AT  MOUNT  VERNON. — WASHINGTON'S  MILI 
TARY  GUESTS. — MAJOR  HORATIO  GATES. — ANECDOTES  CONCERNING  HIM.— 
GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE.— HIS  PECULIARITIES  AND  DOGS.— WASHINGTON  AT 
THE  RICHMOND  CONVENTION.— WAR  SPEECH  OF  PATRICK  HENRY.— WASH 
INGTON'S  MILITARY  INTENTIONS. 

HE  rumor  of  the  cannonading  of  Boston,  which 
had  thrown  such  a  gloom  over  the  religious 
ceremonial  at  the  opening  of  Congress,  had 
been  caused  by  measures  of  Governor  Gage.  The  public 
mind,  in  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  had  been  rendered  ex 
cessively  jealous  and  sensitive  by  the  landing  and  encamp 
ing  of  artillery  upon  the  Common,  and  Welsh  Fusiliers 
on  Fort  Hill,  and  by  the  planting  of  four  large  field-pieces 
on  Boston  Neck,  the  only  entrance  to  the  town  by  land. 
The  country  people  were  arming  and  disciplining  them 
selves  in  every  direction,  and  collecting  and  depositing 

471 


472  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

arms  and  ammunition  in  places  where  they  would  be  at 
hand  in  case  of  emergency.  Gage,  on  the  other  hand, 
issued  orders  that  the  munitions  of  war  in  all  the  public 
magazines  should  be  brought  to  Boston.  One  of  these 
magazines  was  the  arsenal  in  the  northwest  part  of 
Charlestown,  between  Medford  and  Cambridge.  Two 
companies  of  the  king's  troops  passed  silently  in  boats 
up  Mystic  River  in  the  night ;  took  possession  of  a  large 
quantity  of  gunpowder  deposited  there,  and  conveyed  it 
to  Castle  Williams.  Intelligence  of  this  sacking  of  the 
arsenal  flew  with  lightning  speed  through  the  neighbor 
hood.  In  the  morning  several  thousands  of  patriots  were 
assembled  at  Cambridge,  weapon  in  hand,  and  were  with 
difficulty  prevented  from  marching  upon  Boston  to  com 
pel  a  restitution  of  the  powder.  In  the  confusion  and 
agitation,  a  rumor  stole  out  into  the  country  that  Boston 
was  to  be  attacked ;  followed  by  another  that  the  ships 
were  cannonading  the  town,  and  the  soldiers  shooting 
down  the  inhabitants.  The  whole  country  was  forthwith 
in  arms.  Numerous  bodies  of  the  Connecticut  people  had 
made  some  marches  before  the  report  was  contradicted.* 

To  guard  against  any  irruption  from  the  country,  Gage 
encamped  the  59th  regiment  on  Boston  Neck,  and  em 
ployed  the  soldiers  in  intrenching  and  fortifying  it. 

In  the  meantime  the  belligerent  feelings  of  the  inhabi 
tants  were  encouraged,  by  learning  how  the  rumor  01 

*  Holmes'  Annals,  ii.  191.     Letter  of  Gage  to  Lord  Dartmouth. 


WAR-HA  WKS.  473 

their  being  cannonaded  had  been  received  in  the  General 
Congress,  and  by  assurances  from  all  parts  that  the  cause 
of  Boston  would  be  made  the  common  cause  of  America. 
"  It  is  surprising,' '  writes  General  Gage,  "  that  so  many 
of  the  other  provinces  interest  themselves  so  much  in 
this.  They  have  some  warm  friends  in  New  York,  and  I 
learn  that  the  people  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  are 
as  mad  as  they  are  here."  * 

The  commissions  were  arrived  for  those  civil  officers 
appointed  by  the  crown  under  the  new  modifications  of 
the  charter :  many,  however,  were  afraid  to  accept  of 
them.  Those  who  did  soon  resigned,  finding  it  impos 
sible  to  withstand  the  odium  of  the  people.  The  civil 
government  throughout  the  province  became  obstructed 
in  all  its  operations.  It  was  enough  for  a  man  to  be, 
supposed  of  the  governmental  party  to  incur  the  popular 
ill-will. 

Among  other  portentous  signs,  war-hawks  began  to  ap 
pear  above  the  horizon.  Mrs.  Gushing,  wife  to  a  member 
of  Congress,  writes  to  her  husband,  "  Two  of  the  greatest 
military  characters  of  the  day  are  visiting  this  distressed 
town.  General  Charles  Lee,  who  has  served  in  Poland, 
and  Colonel  Israel  Putnam,  whose  bravery  and  character 
need  no  description."  As  these  two  men  will  take  a 
prominent  part  in  coming  events,  we  pause  to  give  a  word 
or  two  concerning  them. 

*  Gage  to  Dartmouth,  Sept.  20. 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Israel  Putnam  was  a  soldier  of  native  growth ;  one  or 
the  military  productions  of  the  French  war;  seasoned 
and  proved  in  frontier  campaigning.  He  had  served  at 
Louisburg,  Fort  Duquesne,  and  Crown  Point;  had  sig 
nalized  himself  in  Indian  warfare  ;  been  captured  by  the 
savages,  tied  to  a  stake  to  be  tortured  and  burnt,  and  had 
only  been  rescued  by  the  interference,  at  the  eleventh 
hour,  of  a  French  partisan  of  the  Indians. 

Since  the  peace,  he  had  returned  to  agricultural  life, 
and  was  now  a  farmer  at  Pomfret,  in  Connecticut,  where 
the  scars  of  his  wounds  and  the  tales  of  his  exploits  ren 
dered  him  a  hero  in  popular  estimation.  The  war  spirit 
yet  burned  within  him.  He  was  now  chairman  of  a  com 
mittee  of  vigilance,  and  had  come  to  Boston  in  discharge 
of  his  political  and  semi-belligerent  functions. 

General  Charles  Lee  was  a  military  man  of  a  different 
stamp ;  an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  a  highly  cultivated 
production  of  European  warfare.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
British  officer,  Lieutenant-colonel  John  Lee,  of  the  dra 
goons,  who  married  the  daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Bunbury, 
Bart.,  and  afterwards  rose  to  be  a  general.  Lee  was  born 
in  1731,  and  may  almost  be  said  to  have  been  cradled  in 
the  army,  for  he  received  a  commission  by  the  time  he 
was  eleven  years  of  age.  He  had  an  irregular  education  ; 
part  of  the  time  in  England,  part  on  the  continent,  and 
must  have  scrambled  his  way  into  knowledge  ;  yet  by 
aptness,  diligence,  and  ambition,  he  had  acquired  a  con 
siderable  portion,  being  a  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and 


GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE.  4.75 

acquainted  with  modern  languages.  The  art  of  war  was 
his  especial  study  from  his  boyhood,  and  he  had  early 
opportunities  of  practical  experience.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-four,  he  commanded  a  company  of  grenadiers  in 
the  44th  regiment,  and  served  in  the  French  war  in 
America,  where  he  was  brought  into  military  companion 
ship  with  Sir  William  Johnson's  Mohawk  warriors,  whom 
he  used  to  extol  for  their  manly  beauty,  their  dress,  their 
graceful  carriage  and  good  breeding.  In  fact,  he  rendered 
himself  so  much  of  a  favorite  among  them,  that  they  ad* 
mitted  him  to  smoke  in  their  councils,  and  adopted  him 
into  the  tribe  of  the  Bear,  giving  him  an  Indian  name, 
signifying  "  Boiling  "Water." 

At  the  battle  of  Ticonderoga,  where  Abercrombie  was 
defeated,  he  was  shot  through  the  body,  while  leading 
his  men  against  the  French  breastworks.  In  the  next 
campaign,  lie  was  present  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Niagara, 
where  General  Prideaux  fell,  and  where  Sir  William 
Johnson,  with  his  British  troops  and  Mohawk  warriors, 
eventually  won  the  fortress.  Lee  had,  probably,  an  op 
portunity  on  this  occasion  of  fighting  side  by  side  with 
some  of  his  adopted  brethren  of  the  Bear  tribe,  as  we 
are  told  he  was  much  exposed  during  the  engagement 
with  the  French  and  Indians,  and  that  two  balls  grazed 
his  hair.  A  military  errand,  afterwards,  took  him  across 
Lake  Erie,  and  down  the  northern  branch  of  the  Ohio  to 
Fort  Duquesne,  and  thence  by  a  long  march  of  seven 
hundred  miles  to  Crown  Point,  where  he  joined  General 


476  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Amherst.  In  1760,  lie  was  among  the  forces  which  fol 
lowed  that  general  from  Lake  Ontario  down  the  St.  Law 
rence  ;  and  was  present  at  the  surrendei  of  Montreal, 
which  completed  the  conquest  of  Canada. 

In  1762,  he  bore  a  colonel's  commission,  and  served 
under  Brigadier-general  Burgoyne  in  Portugal,  where  he 
was  intrusted  with  an  enterprise  against  a  Spanish  post 
at  the  old  Moorish  castle  of  Yilla  Velha,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tagus.  He  forded  the  river  in  the  night,  pushed  his 
way  through  mountain  passes,  and  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  rushed  with  his  grenadiers  into  the  enemy's 
camp  before  daylight,  where  everything  was  carried  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet,  assisted  by  a  charge  of  dra 
goons.  The  war  over,  he  returned  to  England,  bearing 
testimonials  of  bravery  and  good  conduct  from  his  com- 
mander-in-chief,  the  Count  de  la  Lippe,  and  from  the 
king  of  Portugal.* 

Wielding  the  pen  as  well  as  the  sword,  Lee  undertook 
to  write  on  questions  of  colonial  policy,  relative  to  Pon- 
tiac's  war,  in  which  he  took  the  opposition  side.  This 
lost  him  the  favor  of  the  ministry,  and  with  it  all  hope  of 
further  promotion. 

He  now  determined  to  offer  his  services  to  Poland, 
supposed  to  be  on  the  verge  of  a  war.  Kecommenda- 
tions  from  his  old  commander,  the  Count  de  la  Lippe, 
procured  him  access  to  some  of  the  continental  courts. 

*  Life  of  Charles  Lee,  by  Jared  Sparks.  Also,  Memoirs  of  Charles 
Lee;  published  in  London,  1792. 


GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE.  477 

Ke  was  well  received  by  Frederick  the  Great,  and  had 
several  conversations  with  him,  chiefly  on  American  af 
fairs.  At  Warsaw,  his  military  reputation  secured  him 
the  favor  of  Poniatowsky,  recently  elected  king  of  Poland, 
with  the  name  of  Stanislaus  Augustus,  who  admitted  him 
to  his  table,  and  made  him  one  of  his  aides-de-camp. 
Lee  was  disappointed  in  his  hope  of  active  service. 
There  was  agitation  in  the  country,  but  the  power  of  the 
king  was  not  adequate  to  raise  forces  sufficient  for  its 
suppression.  He  had  few  troops,  and  those  not  trust 
worthy  ;  and  the  town  was  full  of  the  disaffected.  "  We 
have  frequent  alarms,"  said  Lee,  "and  the  pleasure  of 
sleeping  every  night  with  our  pistols  on  our  pillows." 

By  way  of  relieving  his  restlessness,  Lee,  at  the  sug 
gestion  of  the  king,  set  off  to  accompany  the  Polish  am 
bassador  to  Constantinople.  The  latter  travelled  too  slow 
for  him;  so  he  dashed  ahead  when  on  the  frontiers  of 
Turkey,  with  an  escort  of  the  grand  seignior's  treasure ; 
came  near  perishing  with  cold  and  hunger  among  the 
Bulgarian  mountains,  and  after  his  arrival  at  the  Turkish 
capital,  ran  a  risk  of  being  buried  under  the  ruins  of  his 
house  in  an  earthquake. 

Late  in  the  same  year  (1766),  he  was  again  in  England, 
an  applicant  for  military  appointment,  bearing  a  letter 
from  Kirg  Stanislaus  to  King  George.  His  meddling 
pen  is  supposed  again  to  have  marred  his  fortunes,  hav 
ing  indulged  in  sarcastic  comments  on  the  military  char 
acter  of  General  Townshend  and  Lord  George  Sackville. 


478  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

"  I  am  not  at  all  surprised,"  said  a  friend  to  him,  "  that 
you  find  the  door  shut  against  you  by  a  person  who  has 
such  unbounded  credit,  as  you  have  ever  too  freely  in 
dulged  in  a  liberty  of  declaiming,  winch  many  invidious 
persons  have  not  failed  to  inform  him  of.  The  principle 
on  which  you  thus  freely  speak  your  mind,  is  honest  and 
patriotic,  but  not  politic." 

The  disappointments  which  Lee  met  with  during  a 
residence  of  two  years  in  England,  and  a  protracted  at 
tendance  on  people  in  power,  rankled  in  his  bosom,  and 
embittered  his  subsequent  resentment  against  the  king 
and  his  ministers. 

In  1768,  he  was  again  on  his  way  to  Poland,  with  the 
design  of  performing  a  campaign  in  the  Russian  service. 
"  I  flatter  myself,"  said  he,  "  that  a  little  more  practice 
will  make  me  a  good  soldier.  If  not,  it  will  serve  to  talk 
over  my  kitchen  fire  in  my  old  age,  which  will  soon  come 
upon  us  all." 

He  now  looked  forward  to  spirited  service.  "  I  am  to 
have  a  command  of  Cossacks  and  Wallacks,"  writes  he, 
"  a  kind  of  people  I  have  a  good  opinion  of.  I  am  de 
termined  not  to  serve  in  the  line.  One  might  as  well  be 
a  church- war  den." 

The  friendship  of  King  Stanislaus  continued.  "He 
treats  me  more  like  a  brother  than  a  patron,"  said  Lee. 
In  1769,  the  latter  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  major-gen 
eral  in  the  Polish  army,  and  left  Warsaw  to  join  the 
Russian  force,  which  was  crossing  the  Dniester  and  ad- 


GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE  479 

vancing  into  Moldavia.  He  arrived  in  time  to  take  part 
in  a  severe  action  between  the  Russians  and  Turks,  in 
which  the  Cossacks  and  hussars  were  terribly  cut  up  by 
the  Turkish  cavalry,  in  a  ravine  near  the  city  of  Chot- 
zim.  It  was  a  long  and  doubtful  conflict,  with  various 
changes ;  but  the  rumored  approach  of  the  grand  vizier, 
with  a  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  men,  compelled 
the  Eussians  to  abandon  the  enterprise  and  re  cross  the 
Dniester. 

Lee  never  returned  to  Poland,  though  he  ever  retained 
a  devoted  attachment  to  Stanislaus.  He  for  some  time 
led  a  restless  life  about  Europe — visiting  Italy,  Sicily, 
Malta,  and  the  south  of  Spain ;  troubled  with  attacks  of 
rheumatism,  gout,  and  the  effects  of  a  "Hungarian  fever." 
He  had  become  more  and  more  cynical  and  irascible,  and 
had  more  than  one  "  affair  of  honor,"  in  one  of  which  he 
killed  his  antagonist.  His  splenetic  feelings,  as  well  as 
his  political  sentiments,  were  occasionally  vented  in  se 
vere  attacks  upon  the  ministry,  full  of  irony  and  sarcasm. 
They  appeared  in  the  public  journals,  and  gained  him 
such  reputation,  that  even  the  papers  of  Junius  were  by 
some  attributed  to  him. 

In  the  questions  which  had  risen  between  England 
and  her  colonies,  he  had  strongly  advocated  the  cause 
of  the  latter ;  and  it  was  the  feelings  thus  excited,  and 
the  recollections,  perhaps,  of  his  early  campaigns,  that 
had  recently  brought  him  to  America.  Here  he  had  ar 
rived  in  the  latter  part  of  1773,  had  visited  various  parts 


480  LIFS  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  taking  an  active 
part  in  the  political  agitations  of  the  country.  His  caus 
tic  attacks  upon  the  ministry ;  his  conversational  powers 
and  his  poignant  sallies,  had  gained  him  great  reputa 
tion;  but  his  military  renown  rendered  him  especially 
interesting  at  the  present  juncture.  A  general,  who  had 
served  in  the  famous  campaigns  of  Europe,  commanded 
Cossacks,  fought  with  Turks,  talked  with  Frederick  the 
Great,  and  been  aide-de-camp  to  the  king  of  Poland,  was 
a  prodigious  acquisition  to  the  patriot  cause !  On  the 
other  hand,  his  visit  to  Boston  was  looked  upon  with 
uneasiness  by  the  British  officers,  who  knew  his  adven 
turous  character.  It  was  surmised  that  he  was  exciting 
a  spirit  of  revolt,  with  a  view  to  putting  himself  at  its 
head.  These  suspicions  found  their  way  into  the  Lon 
don  papers,  and  alarmed  the  British  cabinet.  "  Have  an 
attention  to  his  conduct,"  writes  Lord  Dartmouth  to 
Gage,  "and  take  every  legal  method  to  prevent  his  ef 
fecting  any  of  those  dangerous  purposes  he  is  said  to 
have  in  view." 

Lee,  when  subsequently  informed  of  these  suspicions, 
scoffed  at  them  in  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Edmund  Burke, 
and  declared  that  he  had  not  the  "  temerity  and  vanity  " 
to  aspire  to  the  aims  imputed  to  him. 

"To  think  myself  qualified  for  the  most  important 
charge  that  ever  was  committed  to  mortal  man,"  writes 
he,  "  is  the  last  stage  of  presumption ;  nor  do  I  think  the 
Americans  would,  or  ought  to  confide  in  a  man,  let  his 


MASSACHUSETTS  PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS.        481 

qualifications  be  ever  so  great,  who  lias  no  property 
among  them.  It  is  true,  I  most  devoutly  wish  them  suc 
cess  in  the  glorious  struggle  ;  that  I  have  expressed  my 
wishes  both  in  writing  and  viva  voce  /  but  my  errand  to 
Boston  was  mere  curiosity  to  see  a  people  in  so  singular 
circumstances  ;  and  I  had  likewise  an  ambition  to  be  ac 
quainted  with  some  of  their  leading  men ;  with  them 
only  I  associated  during  my  stay  in  Boston.  Our  in 
genious  gentlemen  in  the  camp,  therefore,  very  naturally 
concluded  my  design  was  to  put  myself  at  their  head." 

To  resume  the  course  of  events  at  Boston.  Gage  on 
the  1st  of  September,  before  this  popular  agitation,  had 
issued  writs  for  an  election  of  an  Assembly  to  meet  at 
Salem  in  October ;  seeing,  however,  the  irritated  state  of 
the  public  mind,  he  now  countermanded  the  same  by 
proclamation.  The  people,  disregarding  the  counter 
mand,  carried  the  election,  and  ninety  of  the  new  mem 
bers  thus  elected  met  at  the  appointed  time.  They 
waited  a  whole  day  for  the  governor  to  attend,  administer 
the  oaths,  and  open  the  session ;  but  as  he  did  not  make 
his  appearance,  they  voted  themselves  a  provincial  Con 
gress,  and  chose  for  president  of  it  John  Hancock — a  man 
of  great  wealth,  popular,  and  of  somewhat  showy  talents, 
and  ardent  patriotism  ;  and  eminent  from  his  social  po 
sition. 

This  self-constituted  body  adjourned  to  Concord,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Boston,  quietly  assumed  supreme  au 
thority,  and  issued  a  remonstrance  to  the  governor,  vir- 

YOfc,  I.— 31 


482  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

tually  calling  him  to  account  for  his  military  operations  in 
fortifying  Boston  Neck,  and  collecting  warlike  stores  about 
him,  thereby  alarming  the  fears  of  the  whole  province, 
and  menacing  the  lives  and  property  of  the  Bostonians. 

General  Gage,  overlooking  the  irregularity  of  its  or 
ganization,  entered  into  explanations  with  the  Assembly  > 
but  failed  to  give  satisfaction.  As  winter  approached, 
he  found  his  situation  more  and  more  critical.  Boston 
was  the  only  place  in  Massachusetts  that  now  contained 
British  forces,  and  it  had  become  the  refuge  of  all  the 
"  tories "  of  the  province ;  that  is  to  say,  of  all  those 
devoted  to  the  British  government.  There  was  animosity 
between  them  and  the  principal  inhabitants,  among  whom 
revolutionary  principles  prevailed.  The  town  itself, 
almost  insulated  by  nature,  and  surrounded  by  a  hostile 
country,  was  like  a  place  besieged. 

The  provincial  Congress  conducted  its  affairs  with  the 
order  and  system  so  formidable  to  General  Gage.  Hav 
ing  adopted  a  plan  for  organizing  the  militia,  it  had 
nominated  general  officers,  two  of  whom,  Artemas  Ward 
and  Seth  Pomeroy,  had  accepted. 

The  executive  powers  were  vested  in  a  committee  of 
safety.  This  was  to  determine  when  the  services  of  the 
militia  were  necessary  ;  was  to  call  them  forth ;  to  nomi 
nate  their  officers  to  the  Congress ;  to  commission  them, 
and  direct  the  operations  of  the  army.  Another  commit 
tee  was  appointed  to  furnish  supplies  to  the  forces  when 
called  out — hence,  named  the  Committee  of  Supplies. 


SHADOWS  OP   WAR.  433 

Under  such  auspices,  the  militia  went  on  arming  and 
disciplining  itself  in  every  direction.  They  associated 
themselves  in  large  bodies,  and  engaged,  verbally  or  by 
writing,  to  assemble  in  arms  at  the  shortest  notice  for 
the  common  defense,  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  com 
mittee  of  safety. 

Arrangements  had  been  made  for  keeping  up  an  active 
correspondence  between  different  parts  of  the  country, 
and  spreading  an  alarm,  in  case  of  any  threatening  dan 
ger.  Under  the  direction  of  the  committees  just  men" 
tioned,  large  quantities  of  military  stores  had  been  col 
lected  and  deposited  at  Concord  and  at  Worcester. 

This  semi-belligerent  state  of  affairs  in  Massachusetts 
produced  a  general  restlessness  throughout  the  land. 
The  weak-hearted  apprehended  coming  troubles ;  the 
resolute  prepared  to  brave  them.  Military  measures, 
hitherto  confined  to  New  England,  extended  to  the  mid 
dle  and  southern  provinces,  and  the  roll  of  the  drum  re 
sounded  through  the  villages. 

Virginia  was  among  the  first  to  buckle  on  its  armor. 
It  had  long  been  a  custom  among  its  inhabitants  to  form 
themselves  into  independent  companies,  equipped  at 
their  own  expense,  having  their  own  peculiar  uniform, 
and  electing  their  own  officers,  though  holding  them 
selves  subject  to  militia  law.  They  had  hitherto  been 
self-disciplined;  but  now  they  continually  resorted  to 
Washington  for  instruction  and  advice  ;  considering  him 
the  highest  authority  on  military  affairsc  He  was  fre- 


484  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

quently  called  from  home,  therefore,  in  the  course  of  the 
winter  and  spring,  to  different  parts  of  the  country  to  re 
view  independent  companies ;  all  of  which  were  anxious 
to  put  themselves  under  his  command  as  field-officer. 

Mount  Vernon,  therefore,  again  assumed  a  military 
tone  as  in  former  days,  when  he  took  his  first  lessons 
there  in  the  art  of  war.  He  had  his  old  campaigning  as 
sociates  with  him  occasionally,  Dr.  Craik  and  Captain 
Hugh  Mercer,  to  talk  of  past  scenes  and  discuss  the  pos 
sibility  of  future  service.  Mercer  was  already  bestirring 
himself  in  disciplining  the  militia  about  Fredericksburg, 
where  he  resided. 

Two  occasional  and  important  guests  at  Mount  Vernon, 
in  this  momentous  crisis,  were  General  Charles  Lee,  of 
whom  we  have  just  spoken,  and  Major  Horatio  Gates. 
As  the  latter  is  destined  to  occupy  an  important  page  in 
this  memoir,  we  will  give  a  few  particulars  concerning 
him.  He  was  an  Englishman  by  birth,  the  son  of  a 
captain  in  the  British  army.  Horace  "Walpole,  whose 
Christian  name  he  bore,  speaks  of  him  in  one  of  his  let 
ters  as  his  godson,  though  some  have  insinuated  that  he 
stood  in  filial  relationship  of  a  less  sanctified  character. 
He  had  received  a  liberal  education,  and,  when  but  twen 
ty-one  years  of  age,  had  served  as  a  volunteer  under 
General  Edward  Cornwallis,  Governor  of  Halifax.  He 
was  afterwards  captain  of  a  New  York  independent  com 
pany,  with  which,  it  may  be  remembered,  he  marched  in 
tihe  campaign  of  Braddock,  in  which  he  was  severely 


MAJOR  HORATIO   GATES.  485 

wounded.  For  two  or  three  subsequent  years  lie  was 
with  his  company  in  the  western  part  of  the  province  of 
New  York,  receiving  the  appointment  of  brigade  major. 
He  accompanied  General  Monckton  as  aide-de-camp  to 
the  West  Indies,  and  gained  credit  at  the  capture  of 
Martinico.  Being  despatched  to  London  with  tidings  of 
the  victory,  he  was  rewarded  by  the  appointment  of 
major  to  a  regiment  of  foot ;  and  afterwards,  as  a  special 
mark  of  royal  favor,  a  majority  in  the  Royal  Americans. 
His  promotion  did  not  equal  his  expectations  and  fancied 
deserts.  He  was  married,  and  wanted  something  more 
lucrative ;  so  he  sold  out  on  half-pay  and  became  an  ap 
plicant  for  some  profitable  post  under  the  government, 
which  he  hoped  to  obtain  through  the  influence  of  Gen 
eral  Monckton  and  some  friends  in  the  aristocracy.  Thus 
several  years  were  passed,  partly  with  his  family  in  re 
tirement,  partly  in  London,  paying  court  to  patrons  and 
men  in  power,  until  finding  there  was  no  likelihood  of 
success,  and  having  sold  his  commission  and  half-pay,  he 
emigrated  to  Virginia  in  1772,  a  disappointed  man ;  pur 
chased  an  estate  in  Berkeley  County,  beyond  the  Blue 
Ridge ;  espoused  the  popular  cause,  and  renewed  his  old 
campaigning  acquaintance  with  "Washington. 

He  was  now  about  forty-six  years  of  age,  of  a  florid 
complexion  and  goodly  presence,  though  a  little  inclined 
to  corpulency ;  social,  insinuating,  and  somewhat  specious 
in  his  manners,  with  a  strong  degree  of  self-approbation. 
A  long  course  of  solicitation,  haunting  public  offices  and 


486  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

antechambers,  and  "knocking  about  town,"  had  taught 
him,  it  is  said,  how  to  wheedle  and  natter,  and  accommo 
date  himself  to  the  humors  of  others,  so  as  to  be  the 
boon  companion  of  gentlemen,  and  "  hail-fellow  well 
met "  with  the  vulgar. 

Lee,  who  was  an  old  friend  and  former  associate  in 
arms,  had  recently  been  induced  by  him  to  purchase  an 
estate  in  his  neighborhood  in  Berkeley  County,  with  a 
view  to  making  it  his  abode,  having  a  moderate  compe 
tency,  a  claim  to  land  on  the  Ohio,  and  the  half-pay  of  a 
British  colonel.  Both  of  these  officers,  disappointed  in 
the  British  service,  looked  forward,  probably,  to  greater 
success  in  the  patriot  cause. 

Lee  had  been  at  Philadelphia  since  his  visit  to  Boston, 
and  had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  leading  mem 
bers  of  Congress  during  the  session.  He  was  evidently 
cultivating  an  intimacy  with  every  one  likely  to  have  in 
fluence  in  the  approaching  struggle. 

To  Washington  the  visits  of  these  gentlemen  were 
extremely  welcome  at  this  juncture,  from  their  military 
knowledge  and  experience,  especially  as  much  of  it  had 
been  acquired  in  America,  in  the  same  kind  of  warfare,  if 
not  the  very  same  campaigns  in  which  he  himself  had 
mingled.  Both  were  interested  in  the  popular  cause. 
Lee  was  full  of  plans  for  the  organization  and  disci 
plining  of  the  militia,  and  occasionally  accompanied 
Washington  in  his  attendance  on  provincial  reviews.  He 
was  subsequently  very  efficient  at  Annapolis  in  promot« 


PECULIARITIES  OF  LEE.  487 

ing  and  superintending  the  organization  of  the  Mary 
land  militia. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  visits  of  Lee  were  as  inter 
esting  to  Mrs.  Washington  as  to  the  general.  He  was 
whimsical,  eccentric,  and  at  times  almost  rude ;  negli 
gent  also,  and  slovenly  in  person  and  attire ;  for  though 
he  had  occasionally  associated  with  kings  and  princes, 
he  had  also  campaigned  with  Mohawks  and  Cossacks, 
and  seems  to  have  relished  their  "  good  breeding."  What 
was  still  more  annoying  in  a  well-regulated  mansion,  he 
was  always  followed  by  a  legion  of  dogs,  which  shared 
his  affections  with  his  horses,  and  took  their  seats  by 
him  when  at  table.  "  I  must  have  some  object  to  em 
brace,"  said  he  misanthropically.  "  When  I  can  be  con 
vinced  that  men  are  as  worthy  objects  as  dogs,  I  shall 
transfer  my  benevolence,  and  become  as  staunch  a  phil 
anthropist  as  the  canting  Addison  affected  to  be." 

In  his  passion  for  horses  and  dogs,  Washington,  to  a 
certain  degree,  could  sympathize  with  him,  and  had  no 
ble  specimens  of  both  in  his  stable  and  kennel,  which 
Lee  doubtless  inspected  with  a  learned  eye.  During  the 
season  in  question,  Washington,  according  to  his  diary, 
was  occasionally  in  the  saddle  at  an  early  hour  following 
the  fox-hounds.  It  was  the  last  time  for  many  a  year 
that  he  was  to  gallop  about  his  beloved  hunting-grounds 
of  Mount  Vernon  and  Belvoir. 

*  Lee  to  Adams.    Life  and  Works  of  Adams,  ii  414. 


488  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

In  the  month  of  March  the  second  Virginia  convention 
was  held  at  Richmond.  Washington  attended  as  dele 
gate  from  Fairfax  County.  In  this  assembly,  Patrick 
Henry,  with  his  usual  ardor  and  eloquence,  advocated 
measures  for  embodying,  arming,  and  disciplining  a  mili 
tia  force,  and  providing  for  the  defense  of  the  colony. 
"  It  is  useless,"  said  he,  "  to  address  further  petitions  to 
government,  or  to  await  the  effect  of  those  already  ad 
dressed  to  the  throne.  The  time  for  supplication  is  past ; 
the  time  for  action  is  at  hand.  We  must  fight,  Mr. 
Speaker,"  exclaimed  he,  emphatically ;  "  I  repeat  it,  sir, 
we  must  fight !  An  appeal  to  arms,  and  to  the  God  of 
Hosts,  is  all  that  is  left  us ! " 

Washington  joined  him  in  the  conviction,  and  was  one 
of  a  committee  that  reported  a  plan  for  carrying  those 
measures  into  effect.  He  was  not  an  impulsive  man  to 
raise  the  battle-cry,  but  the  executive  man  to  marshal 
the  troops  into  the  field,  and  carry  on  the  war. 

His  brother,  John  Augustine,  was  raising  and  disci 
plining  an  independent  company ;  Washington  offered  to 
accept  the  command  of  it  should  occasion  require  it  to  be 
drawn  out.  He  did  the  same  with  respect  to  an  inde* 
pendent  company  at  Eichmond.  "It  is  my  full  inten 
tion,  if  needful,"  writes  he  to  his  brother,  "to  devote  my 
life  and  fortune  to  the  cause."  * 

*  Letter  to  John  Augustine.     Sparks,  iv.  405. 


CHAPTER  XXXVTL 


INFATUATION  IN  BRITISH  COUNCILS. — COLONEL  GKANT,  THE  BRAGGART.  —  CO 
ERCIVE  MEASURES.  —  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  MILITARY  MAGAZINE  A1 
CONCORD. — BATTLE  OF  LEXINGTON.  —  THE  CRY  OF  BLOOD  THROUGH  THE 
LAND. — OLD  SOLDIERS  OF  THE  FRENCH  WAR. — JOHN  STARK. — ISRAEL  PUT 
NAM.— RISING  OF  THE  YEOMANRY.— MEASURES  OF  LORD  DUNMORE  IN  VIR^ 
GINIA.  —  INDIGNATION  OF  THE  VIRGINIANS.  —  HUGH  MERCER  AND  THB 
FRIENDS  OF  LIBERTY.  —ARRIVAL  OF  THE  NEWS  OF  LEXINGTON  AT  MOUNT 
VERNON.— EFFECT  ON  BRYAN  FAIRFAX,  GATES,  AND  WASHINGTON. 


HILE  the  spirit  of  revolt  was  daily  gaining 
strength  and  determination  in  America,  a 
strange  infatuation  reigned  in  the  British  coun 
cils.  While  the  wisdom  and  eloquence  of  Chatham  were 
exerted  in  vain  in  behalf  of  American  rights,  an  empty 
braggadocio,  elevated  to  a  seat  in  Parliament,  was  able 
to  captivate  the  attention  of  the  members,  and  influence 
their  votes  by  gross  misrepresentations  of  the  Americans 
and  their  cause.  This  was  no  other  than  Colonel  Grant, 
the  same  shallow  soldier  who,  exceeding  his  instructions, 
had  been  guilty  of  a  foolhardy  bravado  before  the  walls 
of  Fort  Duquesne,  which  brought  slaughter  and  defeat 
upon  his  troops.  From  misleading  the  army,  he  was 
now  promoted  to  a  station  wh^re  he  might  mislead  the 


490  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

councils  of  his  country.  We  are  told  that  he  entertained 
Parliament,  especially  the  ministerial  side  of  the  House, 
with  ludicrous  stories  of  the  cowardice  of  Americans. 
He  had  served  with  them,  he  said,  and  knew  them  well, 
and  would  venture  to  say  they  would  never  dare  to 
face  an  English  army ;  that  they  were  destitute  of 
every  requisite  to  make  good  soldiers,  and  that  a  very 
slight  force  would  be  sufficient  for  their  complete  reduc 
tion.  With  five  regiments  he  could  march  through  all 
America ! 

How  often  has  England  been  misled  to  her  cost  by 
such  slanderous  misrepresentations  of  the  American  char 
acter!  Grant  talked  of  having  served  with  the  Ameri 
cans  ;  had  he  already  forgotten  that  in  the  field  of  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  when  the  British  regulars  fled,  it  was 
alone  the  desperate  stand  of  a  handful  of  Virginians, 
which  covered  their  disgraceful  flight,  and  saved  them 
from  being  overtaken  and  massacred  by  the  savages  ? 

This  taunting  and  braggart  speech  of  Grant  was  made 
in  the  face  of  the  conciliatory  bill  of  the  venerable 
Chatham,  devised  with  a  view  to  redress  the  wrongs  of 
America.  The  councils  of  the  arrogant  and  scornful  pre 
vailed  ;  and  instead  of  the  proposed  bill,  further  meas 
ures  of  a  stringent  nature  were  adopted,  coercive  of  some 
of  the  middle  and  southern  colonies,  but  ruinous  to  the 
trade  and  fisheries  of  New  England. 

At  length  the  bolt,  so  long  suspended,  fell !  The  troops 
at  Boston  had  been  augmented  to  about  four  thousand 


EXPEDITION  TO  CONCORD.  491 

men.  Goaded  on  by  the  instigations  of  the  tories,  and 
alarmed  by  the  energetic  measures  of  the  whigs,  General 
Gage  now  resolved  to  deal  the  latter  a  crippling  blow. 
This  was  to  surprise  and  destroy  their  magazine  of  mili 
tary  stores  at  Concord,  about  twenty  miles  from  Boston, 
It  was  to  be  effected  on  the  night  of  the  18th  of  April,  by 
a  force  detached  for  the  purpose. 

Preparations  were  made  with  great  secrecy.  Boats 
for  the  transportation  of  the  troops  were  launched,  and 
moored  under  the  sterns  of  the  men-of-war.  Grenadiers 
and  light  infantry  were  relieved  from  duty,  and  held 
in  readiness.  On  the  18th,  officers  were  stationed  on 
the  roads  leading  from  Boston,  to  prevent  any  intelli 
gence  of  the  expedition  getting  into  the  country.  At 
night  orders  were  issued  by  General  Gage  that  no  per 
son  should  leave  the  town.  About  ten  o'clock,  from 
eight  to  nine  hundred  men,  grenadiers,  light  infantry, 
and  marines,  commanded  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Smith, 
embarked  in  the  boats  at  the  foot  of  Boston  Common, 
and  crossed  to  Lechmere  Point,  in  Cambridge,  whence 
they  were  to  march  silently,  and  without  beat  of  drum, 
to  the  place  of  destination. 

The  measures  of  General  Gage  had  not  been  shrouded 
in  all  the  secrecy  he  imagined.  Mystery  often  defeats 
itself  by  the  suspicions  it  awakens.  Dr.  Joseph  Warren, 
one  of  the  committee  of  safety,  had  observed  the  prepar 
atory  disposition  of  the  boats  and  troops,  and  surmised 
some  sinister  intention.  Ho  sent  notice  of  these  move- 


£92  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

ments  to  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  both  mem 
bers  of  the  provincial  Congress,  but  at  that  time  privately 
sojourning  with  a  friend  at  Lexington.  A  design  on  the 
magazine  at  Concord  was  suspected,  and  the  committee 
of  safety  ordered  that  the  cannon  collected  there  should 
be  secreted,  and  part  of  the  stores  removed. 

On  the  night  of  the  18th,  Dr.  Warren  sent  off  two 
messengers  by  different  routes  to  give  the  alarm  that  the 
king's  troops  were  actually  sallying  forth.  The  messen 
gers  got  out  of  Boston  just  before  the  order  of  General 
Gage  went  into  effect,  to  prevent  any  one  from  leaving 
the  town.  About  the  same  time  a  lantern  was  hung  out 
of  an  upper  window  of  the  north  church,  in  the  direction 
of  Charlestown.  This  was  a  preconcerted  signal  to  the 
patriots  of  that  place,  who  instantly  despatched  swift 
messengers  to  rouse  the  country. 

In  the  meantime  Colonel  Swift  set  out  on  his  noctur 
nal  march  from  Lechmere  Point  by  an  unfrequented 
path  across  marshes,  where  at  times  the  troops  had  to 
wade  through  water.  He  had  proceeded  but  a  few  miles 
when  alarm  guns,  booming  through  the  night  air,  and 
the  clang  of  village  bells,  showed  that  the  news  of  his 
approach  was  travelling  before  him,  and  the  people  were 
rising.  He  now  sent  back  to  General  Gage  for  a  rein 
forcement,  while  Major  Pitcairn  was  detached  with  six 
companies  to  press  forward,  and  secure  the  bridges  at 
Concord. 

Pitcairn  advanced  rapidly,  capturing  every  one  he  met, 


PROMISCUOUS  FIRING.  493 

or  overtook.  Within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  Lexington, 
however,  a  horseman  was  too  quick  on  the  spur  for  him, 
and,  galloping  to  the  village,  gave  the  alarm  that  the  red 
coats  were  coming.  Drums  were  beaten ;  guns  fired. 
By  the  time  that  Pitcairn  entered  the  village,  about 
seventy  or  eighty  of  the  yeomanry,  in  military  array, 
were  mustered  on  the  green  near  the  church.  It  was  a 
part  of  the  "constitutional  army,"  pledged  to  resist  by 
force  any  open  hostility  of  British  troops.  Besides 
these,  there  were  a  number  of  lookers-on,  armed  and 
unarmed. 

The  sound  of  drum,  and  the  array  of  men  in  arms,  in 
dicated  a  hostile  determination.  Pitcairn  halted  his  men 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  church,  and  ordered  them 
to  prime  and  load.  They  then  advanced  at  double  quick 
time.  The  major,  riding  forward,  waved  his  sword,  and 
ordered  the  rebels,  as  he  termed  them,  to  disperse. 
Other  of  the  officers  echoed  his  words  as  they  advanced : 
"  Disperse,  ye  villains !  Lay  down  your  arms,  ye  rebels, 
and  disperse  !  "  The  orders  were  disregarded.  A  scene 
of  confusion  ensued,  with  firing  on  both  sides ;  which 
party  commenced  it,  has  been  a  matter  of  dispute.  Pit 
cairn  always  maintained  that,  finding  the  militia  would 
not  disperse,  he  turned  to  order  his  men  to  draw  out, 
and  surround  them,  when  he  saw  a  flash  in  the  pan 
from  the  gun  of  a  countryman  posted  behind  a  wall,  and 
almost  instantly  the  report  of  two  or  three  muskets. 
These  he  supposed  to  be  from  the  Americans,  as  his 


494  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

horse  was  wounded,  as  was  also  a  soldier  close  by  liiia 
His  troops  rushed  on,  and  a  promiscuous  fire  took  place, 
though,  as  he  declared,  he  made  repeated  signals  with 
his  sword  for  his  men  to  forbear. 

The  firing  of  the  Americans  was  irregular,  and  without 
much  effect ;  that  of  the  British  was  more  fatal.  Eight 
of  the  patriots  were  killed,  and  ten  wounded,  and  the 
whole  put  to  flight.  The  victors  formed  on  the  common, 
fired  a  volley,  and  gave  three  cheers  for  one  of  the  most 
inglorious  and  disastrous  triumphs  ever  achieved  by 
British  arms. 

Colonel  Smith  soon  arrived  with  the  residue  of  the 
detachment,  and  they  all  marched  on  towards  Concord, 
about  six  miles  distant. 

The  alarm  had  reached  that  place  in  the  dead  hour 
of  the  preceding  night.  The  church  bell  roused  the  in 
habitants.  They  gathered  together  in  anxious  consulta 
tion.  The  militia  and  minute  men  seized  their  arms,  and 
repaired  to  the  parade  ground,  near  the  church.  Here 
they  were  subsequently  joined  by  armed  yeomanry  from 
Lincoln,  and  elsewhere.  Exertions  were  now  made  to 
remove  and  conceal  the  military  stores.  A  scout,  who 
had  been  sent  out  for  intelligence,  brought  word  that  the 
British  had  fired  upon  the  people  at  Lexington,  and  were 
advancing  upon  Concord.  There  was  great  excitement 
and  indignation.  Part  of  the  militia  marched  down  the 
Lexington  road  to  meet  them,  but  returned,  reporting 
their  force  to  be  three  times  that  of  the  Americans.  The 


BRITISH  ENTER  CONCORD.  495 

whole  of  the  militia  now  retired  to  an  eminence  about  a 
mile  from  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  formed  themselves 
into  two  battalions. 

About  seven  o'clock,  the  British  came  in  sight,  advanc 
ing  with  quick  step,  their  arms  glittering  in  the  morning 
sun.  They  entered  in  two  divisions  by  different  roads. 
Concord  is  traversed  by  a  river  of  the  same  name,  having 
two  bridges,  the  north  and  the  south.  The  grenadiers 
and  light  infantry  took  post  in  the  centre  of  the  town, 
while  strong  parties  of  light  troops  were  detached  to 
secure  the  bridges  and  destroy  the  military  stores.  Two 
hours  were  expended  in  the  work  of  destruction  without 
much  success,  so  much  of  the  stores  having  been  re 
moved  or  concealed.  During  all  this  time  the  yeomanry 
from  the  neighboring  towns  were  hurrying  in  with  such 
weapons  as  were  at  hand,  and  joining  the  militia  on  the 
height,  until  the  little  cloud  of  war  gathering  there  num 
bered  about  four  hundred  and  fifty. 

About  ten  o'clock,  a  body  of  three  hundred  undertook 
to  dislodge  the  British  from  the  north  bridge.  As  they 
approached,  the  latter  fired  upon  them,  killing  two,  and 
wounding  a  third.  The  patriots  returned  the  fire  with 
spirit  and  effect.  The  British  retreated  to  the  main 
body,  the  Americans  pursuing  them  across  the  bridge. 

By  this  time  all  the  military  stores  which  could  be 
found  had  been  destroyed ;  Colonel  Smith,  therefore, 
made  preparations  for  a  retreat.  The  scattered  troops 
were  collected,  the  dead  were  buried,  and  conveyances 


496  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

procured  for  the  wounded.  About  noon  lie  commenced 
his  retrograde  march  for  Boston.  It  was  high  time. 
His  troops  were  jaded  by  the  night  march,  and  the  morn 
ing's  toils  and  skirmishings. 

The  country  was  thoroughly  alarmed.  The  yeomanry 
were  hurrying  from  every  quarter  to  the  scene  of  action. 
As  the  British  began  their  retreat,  the  Americans  began 
the  work  of  sore  and  galling  retaliation.  Along  the  open 
road,  the  former  were  harassed  incessantly  by  rustic 
marksmen,  who  took  deliberate  aim  from  behind  trees, 
or  over  stone  fences.  Where  the  road  passed  through 
woods,  the  British  found  themselves  between  two  fires, 
dealt  by  unseen  foes,  the  minute  men  having  posted 
themselves  on  each  side  among  the  bushes.  It  was  in 
vain  they  threw  out  flankers,  and  endeavored  to  dislodge 
their  assailants  ;  each  pause  gave  time  for  other  pursuers 
to  come  within  reach,  and  open  attacks  from  different 
quarters.  For  several  miles  they  urged  their  way  along 
woody  defiles,  or  roads  skirted  with  fences  and  stone 
walls,  the  retreat  growing  more  and  more  disastrous; 
some  were  shot  down,  some  gave  out  through  mere 
exhaustion ;  the  rest  hurried  on,  without  stopping  to 
aid  the  fatigued  or  wounded.  Before  reaching  Lexing 
ton,  Colonel  Smith  received  a  severe  wound  in  the  leg, 
and  the  situation  of  the  retreating  troops  was  becoming 
extremely  critical,  when,  about  two  o'clock,  they  were 
met  by  Lord  Percy,  with  a  brigade  of  one  thousand  men, 
and  two  field-pieces.  His  lordship  had  been  detached 


RALLYING   THE  PROVINCIALS.  497 

from  Boston  about  nine  o'clock  by  General  Gage,  in  com 
pliance  with  Colonel  Smith's  urgent  call  for  a  reinforce 
ment,  and  had  marched  gayly  through  Roxbury  to  the 
tune  of  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  in  derision  of  the  "  rebels." 
He  now  found  the  latter  a  more  formidable  foe  than  he 
had  anticipated.  Opening  his  brigade  to  the  right  and 
left,  he  received  the  retreating  troops  into  a  hollow 
square  ;  where,  fainting  and  exhausted,  they  threw  them 
selves  on  the  ground  to  rest.  His  lordship  showed  no 
disposition  to  advance  upon  their  assailants,  but  con 
tented  himself  with  keeping  them  at  bay  with  his  field- 
pieces,  which  opened  a  vigorous  fire  from  an  eminence. 

Hitherto  the  provincials,  being  hasty  levies,  without 
a  leader,  had  acted  from  individual  impulse,  without 
much  concert ;  but  now  General  Heath  was  upon  the 
ground.  He  was  one  of  those  authorized  to  take  com 
mand  when  the  minute  men  should  be  called  out.  That 
class  of  combatants  promptly  obeyed  his  orders,  and  he 
was  efficacious  in  rallying  them,  and  bringing  them  into 
military  order,  when  checked  and  scattered  by  the  fire  of 
the  field-pieces. 

Dr.  Warren,  also,  arrived  on  horseback,  having  spurred 
from  Boston  on  receiving  news  of  the  skirmishing.  In 
the  subsequent  part  of  the  day,  he  was  one  of  the  most 
active  and  efficient  men  in  the  field.  His  presence,  like 
that  of  General  Heath,  regulated  the  infuriated  ardor  of 
the  militia,  and  brought  it  into  system. 

Lord  Percy,  having  allowed  the  troops  a  short  interval 
VOL.  i.— 33 


498 


LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 


for  repose  and  refreshment,  continued  the  retreat  toward 
Boston.  As  soon  as  he  got  under  march,  the  galling  as 
sault  by  the  pursuing  yeomanry  was  recommenced  in 
flank  and  rear.  The  British  soldiery,  irritated  in  turn, 
acted  as  if  in  an  enemy's  country.  Houses  and  shops 
Were  burnt  down  in  Lexington ;  private  dwellings  along 
the  road  were  plundered,  and  their  inhabitants  mal 
treated.  In  one  instance,  an  unoffending  invalid  was 
wantonly  slain  in  his  own  house.  All  this  increased  the 
exasperation  of  the  yeomanry.  There  was  occasional 
sharp  skirmishing,  with  bloodshed  on  both  sides,  but  in 
general  a  dogged  pursuit,  where  the  retreating  troops 
were  galled  at  every  step.  Their  march  became  more 
and  more  impeded  by  the  number  of  their  wounded. 
Lord  Percy  narrowly  escaped  death  from  a  musket-ball, 
which  struck  off  a  button  of  his  waistcoat.  One  of  his 
officers  remained  behind  wounded  in  West  Cambridge. 
His  ammunition  was  failing  as  he  approached  Charles- 
town.  The  provincials  pressed  upon  him  in  rear,  others 
were  advancing  from  Koxbury,  Dorchester,  and  Milton ; 
Colonel  Pickering,  with  the  Essex  militia,  seven  hundred 
strong,  was  at  hand ;  there  was  danger  of  being  inter 
cepted  in  the  retreat  to  Charlestown.  The  field-pieces 
were  again  brought  into  play,  to  check  the  ardor  of  the 
pursuit ;  but  they  were  no  longer  objects  of  terror.  The 
sharpest  firing  of  the  provincials  was  near  Prospect  Hill, 
as  the  harassed  enemy  hurried  along  the  Charlestown 
road,  eager  to  reach  the  Neck,  and  get  under  cover  of  theil 


THE  CHASE.  499 

ships.  The  pursuit  terminated  a  little  after  sunset,  at 
Charlestown  Common,  where  General  Heath  brought  the 
minute  men  to  a  halt.  Within  half  an  hour  more,  a  pow 
erful  body  of  men,  from  Marblehead  and  Salem,  came  up 
to  join  in  the  chase.  "  If  the  retreat,"  writes  Washington, 
"  had  not  been  as  precipitate  as  it  was, — and  God  knows 
it  could  not  well  have  been  more  so, — the  ministerial 
troops  must  have  surrendered,  or  been  totally  cut  off." 

The  distant  firing  from  the  main  land  had  reached  the 
British  at  Boston.  The  troops  which,  in  the  morning, 
had  marched  through  Eoxbury,  to  the  tune  of  Yankee 
Doodle,  might  have  been  seen  at  sunset,  hounded  along 
the  old  Cambridge  road  to  Charleston  Neck,  by  mere 
armed  yeomanry.  Gage  was  astounded  at  the  catastrophe. 
It  was  but  a  short  time  previous  that  one  of  his  officers, 
in  writing  to  friends  in  England,  scoffed  at  the  idea  of 
the  Americans  taking  up  arms.  "  Whenever  it  comes  to 
blows,"  said  he,  "  he  that  can  run  the  fastest,  will  think 
himself  well  off,  believe  me.  Any  two  regiments  here 
ought  to  be  decimated,  if  they  did  not  beat  in  the  field 
the  whole  force  of  the  Massachusetts  province."  How 
frequently,  throughout  this  Revolution,  had  the  English 
to  pay  the  penalty  of  thus  undervaluing  the  spirit  they 
were  provoking! 

In  this  memorable  affair,  the  British  loss  was  seventy- 
three  killed,  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  wounded,  and 
twenty-six  missing.  Among  the  slain  were  eighteen  offi 
cers.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  forty-nine  killed, 


500  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

thirty-nine  wounded,  and  five  missing.  This  was  tha 
first  blood  shed  in  the  revolutionary  struggle ;  a  mere 
drop  in  amount,  but  a  deluge  in  its  effects, — rending  the 
colonies  forever  from  the  mother  country. 

The  cry  of  blood  from  the  field  of  Lexington  went 
through  the  land.  None  felt  the  appeal  more  than  the 
old  soldiers  of  the  French  war.  It  roused  John  Stark,  of 
New  Hampshire — a  trapper  and  hunter  in  his  youth,  a 
veteran  in  Indian  warfare,  a  campaigner  under  Abercrom- 
bie  and  Amherst,  now  the  military  oracle  of  a  rustic 
neighborhood.  Within  ten  minutes  after  receiving  the 
alarm,  he  was  spurring  towards  the  sea-coast,  and  on  the 
way  stirring  up  the  volunteers  of  the  Massachusetts 
borders,  to  assemble  forthwith  at  Bedford,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston. 

Equally  alert  was  his  old  comrade  in  frontier  exploits, 
Colonel  Israel  Putnam.  A  man  on  horseback,  with  a 
drum,  passed  through  his  neighborhood  in  Connecticut, 
proclaiming  British  violence  at  Lexington.  Putnam  was 
in  the  field  ploughing,  assisted  by  his  son.  In  an  instant 
the  team  was  unyoked,  the  plough  left  in  the  furrow, 
the  lad  sent  home  to  give  word  of  his  father's  departure, 
and  Putnam,  on  horseback,  in  his  working  garb,  urging 
with  all  speed  to  the  camp.  Such  was  the  spirit  aroused 
throughout  the  country.  The  sturdy  yeomanry,  from  all 
parts,  were  hastening  toward  Boston  with  such  weapons 
as  were  at  hand  ;  and  happy  was  he  who  could  command 
a  rusty  fowling-piece  and  a  powder-horn. 


VIRGINIA  IN  COMBUSTION.  5()1 

The  news  reached  Virginia  at  a  critical  moment.  Lord 
Dunmore,  obeying  a  general  order  issued  by  the  ministry 
to  all  the  provincial  governors,  had  seized  upon  the  mil 
itary  munitions  of  the  province.  Here  was  a  similar 
measure  to  that  of  Gage.  The  cry  went  forth  that  the  sub 
jugation  of  the  colonies  was  to  be  attempted.  All  Virginia 
was  in  combustion.  The  standard  of  liberty  was  reared  in 
every  county ;  there  was  a  general  cry  to  arms.  Wash 
ington  was  looked  to,  from  various  quarters,  to  take  com 
mand.  His  old  comrade  in  arms,  Hugh  Mercer,  was  about 
marching  down  to  Williamsburg  at  the  head  of  a  body  of 
resolute  men,  seven  hundred  strong,  entitled  "  The  friends 
of  constitutional  liberty  and  America,"  whom  he  had 
organized  and  drilled  in  Fredericksburg,  and  nothing  but 
a  timely  concession  of  Lord '  Dunmore,  with  respect  to 
some  powder  which  he  had  seized,  prevented  his  being 
beset  in  his  palace. 

Before  Hugh  Mercer  and  the  Friends  of  Liberty  dis 
banded  themselves,  they  exchanged  a  mutual  pledge  to 
reassemble  at  a  moment's  warning,  whenever  called  on 
to  defend  the  liberty  and  rights  of  this  or  any  other  sis 
ter  colony. 

Washington  was  at  Mount  Vernon,  preparing  to  set 
out  for  Philadelphia  as  a  delegate  to  the  second  Con 
gress,  when  he  received  tidings  of  the  affair  at  Lexington. 
Bryan  Fairfax  and  Major  Horatio  Gates  were  his  guests 
at  the  time.  They  all  regarded  the  event  as  decisive  in 
its  consequences ;  but  thay  regarded  it  with  different 


502  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

feelings.  The  worthy  and  gentle-spirited  Fairtai  de 
plored  it  deeply.  He  foresaw  that  it  must  break  up  all 
his  pleasant  relations  in  life ;  arraying  his  dearest  friends 
against  the  government  to  which,  notwithstanding  the 
errors  of  its  policy,  he  was  loyally  attached  and  resolved 
to  adhere. 

Gates,  on  the  contrary,  viewed  it  with  the  eye  of  a 
soldier  and  a  place-hunter — hitherto  disappointed  in  both 
capacities.  This  event  promised  to  open  a  new  avenue 
to  importance  and  command,  and  he  determined  to  enter 
upon  it. 

"Washington's  feelings  were  of  a  mingled  nature.  They 
may  be  gathered  from  a  letter  to  his  friend  and  neighbor, 
George  William  Fairfax,  then  in  England,  in  which  he 
lays  the  blame  of  this  "deplorable  affair"  on  the  ministry 
and  their  military  agents ;  and  concludes  with  the  follow 
ing  words,  in  which  the  yearnings  of  the  patriot  give 
affecting  solemnity  to  the  implied  resolve  of  the  soldier : 
"  Unhappy  it  is  to  reflect  that  a  brother's  sword  has  been 
sheathed  in  a  brother's  breast ;  and  that  the  once  happy 
and  peaceful  plains  of  America  are  to  be  either  drenched 
with  blood  or  inhabited  by  slaves.  Sad  alternative !  But 
can  a  virtwus  man  hesitate  in  his  choice  ?  " 


CHAPTEE  XXXVm 

ENLISTING  OP  TROOPS  IN  THE  EAST.— CAMP  AT  BOSTON.— GENERAL  ABTKMAS 
WARD. — SCHEME  TO  SURPRISE  TICONDEROGA. — NEW  HAMPSHIRE  GRANTS.— 
ETHAN  ALLEN  AND  THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  BOYS.  —  BENEDICT  ARNOLD. — 
AFFAIR  OF  TICONDEROGA  AND  CROWN  POINT.— A  DASH  AT  ST.  JOHN'S. 

T  the  eastward,  the  march  of  the  Eevolution 
went  on  with  accelerated  speed.  Thirty  thou 
sand  men  had  been  deemed  necessary  for  the 
defense  of  the  country.  The  provincial  Congress  of  Massa 
chusetts  resolved  to  raise  thirteen  thousand  six  hundred, 
as  its  quota.  Circular  letters,  also,  were  issued  by  the 
committee  of  safety,  urging  the  towns  to  enlist  troops 
with  all  speed,  and  calling  for  military  aid  from  the  other 
New  England  provinces. 

Their  appeals  were  promptly  answered.  Bodies  of 
militia,  and  parties  of  volunteers  from  New  Hampshire, 
Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut,  hastened  to  join  the  min 
ute  men  of  Massachusetts  in  forming  a  camp  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Boston.  With  the  troops  of  Connecticut,  came 
Israel  Putnam,  having  recently  raised  a  regiment  in  that 
province,  and  received  from  its  Assembly  the  commission 
of  brigadier-general.  Some  of  his  old  comrades  in  French 

503 


604  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

and  Indian  warfare,  had  hastened  to  join  his  standard. 
Such  were  two  of  his  captains,  Durkee  and  Knowlton. 
The  latter,  who  was  his  especial  favorite,  had  fought  by 
his  side  when  a  mere  boy. 

The  command  of  the  camp  was  given  to  General  Arte- 
mas  Ward,  already  mentioned.  He  was  a  native  of  Shrews 
bury  in  Massachusetts,  and  a  veteran  of  the  seven  years' 
war — having  served  as  lieutenant-colonel  under  Aber- 
crombie.  He  had,  likewise,  been  a  member  of  the  legis 
lative  bodies,  and  had  recently  been  made,  by  the  provin 
cial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  commander-in-chief  of  its 
forces. 

As  affairs  were  now  drawing  to  a  crisis,  and  war  was 
considered  inevitable,  some  bold  spirits  in  Connecticut 
conceived  a  project  for  the  outset.  This  was  the  surprisal 
of  the  old  forts  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  already 
famous  in  the  French  war.  Their  situation  on  Lake 
Champlain  gave  them  the  command  of  the  main  route  to 
Canada;  so  that  the  possession  of  them  would  be  all- 
important  in  case  of  hostilities.  They  were  feebly  garri 
soned  and  negligently  guarded,  and  abundantly  furnished 
with  artillery  and  military  stores,  so  much  needed  by  the 
patriot  army. 

This  scheme  was  set  on  foot  in  the  purlieus,  as  it  were, 
of  the  provincial  Legislature  of  Connecticut,  then  in  ses 
sion.  It  was  not  openly  sanctioned  by  that  body,  but 
secretly  favored,  and  money  lent  from  the  treasury  to 
those  engaged  in  it.  A  committee  was  appointed,  also, 


ENLISTING.  505 

to  accompany  them  to  the  frontier,  aid  them  in  raising 
troops,  and  exercise  over  them  a  degree  of  superintend 
ence  and  control. 

Sixteen  men  were  thus  enlisted  in  Connecticut,  a  greater 
number  in  Massachusetts,  but  the  greatest  accession  of 
force  was  from  what  was  called  the  "New  Hampshire 
Grants."  This  was  a  region  having  the  Connecticut  Eiver 
on  one  side,  and  Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hudson  River 
on  the  other — being,  in  fact,  the  country  forming  the 
present  State  of  Vermont.  It  had  long  been  a  disputed 
territory,  claimed  by  New  York  and  New  Hampshire. 
George  II.  had  decided  in  favor  of  New  York;  but  the 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire  had  made  grants  of  between 
one  and  two  hundred  townships  in  it,  whence  it  had 
acquired  the  name  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants.  The 
settlers  on  those  grants  resisted  the  attempts  of  New 
York  to  eject  them,  and  formed  themselves  into  an  as 
sociation  called  "The  Green  Mountain  Boys."  Reso 
lute,  strong-handed  fellows  they  were,  with  Ethan  Allen 
at  their  head,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  but  brought  up 
among  the  Green  Mountains.  He  and  his  lieutenants, 
Seth  Warner  and  Remember  Baker,  were  outlawed  by 
the  Legislature  of  New  York,  and  rewards  offered  for  their 
apprehension.  They  and  their  associates  armed  them 
selves,  set  New  York  at  defiance,  and  swore  they  would 
be  the  death  of  any  one  who  should  attempt  their  arrest. 

Thus  Ethan  Allen  was  becoming  a  kind  of  Robin  Hood 
among  the  mountains,  when  the  present  crisis  changed 


506  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  relative  position  of  things  as  if  by  magic.  Boundary 
feuds  were  forgotten  amid  the  great  questions  of  colonial 
rights.  Ethan  Allen  at  once  stepped  forward,  a  patriot, 
and  volunteered  with  his  Green  Mountain  Boys  to  serve 
in  the  popular  cause.  He  was  well  fitted  for  the  enter 
prise  in  question,  by  his  experience  as  a  frontier  cham 
pion,  his  robustness  of  mind  and  body,  and  his  fearless 
spirit.  He  had  a  kind  of  rough  eloquence,  also,  that  was 
very  effective  with  his  followers.  "  His  style,"  says  one, 
who  knew  him  personally,  "  was  a  singular  compound  of 
local  barbarisms,  Scriptural  phrases,  and  oriental  wild- 
ness  ;  and  though  unclassic,  and  sometimes  ungrammati- 
cal,  was  highly  animated  and  forcible."  Washington,  in 
one  of  his  letters,  says  there  was  "  an  original  something 
in  him  which  commanded  admiration." 

Thus  reinforced,  the  party,  now  two  hundred  and  sev 
enty  strong,  pushed  forward  to  Castleton,  a  place  within 
a  few  miles  of  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain.  Here  a 
council  of  war  was  held  on  the  2d  of  May.  Ethan  Allen 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  expedition,  with  James 
Easton  and  Seth  Warner  as  second  and  third  in  com 
mand.  Detachments  were  sent  off  to  Skenesborough 
(now  Whitehall),  and  another  place  on  the  lake,  with 
orders  to  seize  all  the  boats  they  could  find  and  bring 
them  to  Shoreham,  opposite  Ticonderoga,  whither  Allen 
prepared  to  proceed  with  the  main  body. 

At  this  juncture,  another  adventurous  spirit  arrived  at 
Castleton.  This  was  Benedict  Arnold,  since  so  sadly  re- 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD.  507 

nowned.  He,  too,  had  conceived  the  project  of  surpris 
ing  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point ;  or,  perhaps,  had 
caught  the  idea  from  its  first  agitators  in  Connecticut — • 
in  the  militia  of  which  province  he  held  a  captain's  com 
mission.  He  had  proposed  the  scborae  to  the  Massachu 
setts  committee  of  safety.  It  had  mt^  f,heir  approbation. 
They  had  given  him  a  colonel's  commission,  authorized 
him  to  raise  a  force  in  Western  Massachusetts,  not  ex 
ceeding  four  hundred  men,  and  furnished  him  with 
money  and  means.  Arnold  had  enlisted  but  a  few  offi 
cers  and  men  when  he  heard  of  the  expedition  from  Con 
necticut  being  on  the  march.  He  instantly  hurried  on 
with  one  attendant  to  overtake  it,  leaving  his  few  recruits 
to  follow,  as  best  they  could :  in  this  way  he  reached 
Castleton  just  after  the  council  of  war. 

Producing  the  colonel's  commission  received  from  the 
Massachusetts  committee  of  safety,  he  now  aspired  to  the 
supreme  command.  His  claims  were  disregarded  by  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys ;  they  would  follow  no  leader  but 
Ethan  Allen.  As  they  formed  the  majority  of  the  party, 
Arnold  was  fain  to  acquiesce,  and  serve  as  a  volunteer, 
with  the  rank,  but  not  the  command  of  colonel. 

The  party  arrived  at  Shoreham,  opposite  Ticonderoga, 
on  the  night  of  the  9th  of  May.  The  detachment  sent  in 
quest  of  boats  had  failed  to  arrive.  There  were  a  few 
boats  at  hand,  with  which  the  transportation  was  com 
menced.  It  was  slow  work ;  the  night  wore  away ;  day 
was  about  to  break,  and  but  eighty-three  men,  with  Allen 


508  &1FE  Off   WASHINGTON. 

and  Arnold,  had  crossed.  Should  they  wait  for  the  resi 
due,  day  would  dawn,  the  garrison  wake,  and  their  enter 
prise  might  fail.  Allen  drew  up  his  men,  addressed 
them  in  his  own  emphatic  style,  and  announced  his  in 
tention  to  make  a  dash  at  the  fort,  without  waiting  for 
more  force.  "  It  is  a  desperate  attempt,"  said  he,  "  and 
I  ask  no  man  to  go  against  his  will.  I  will  take  the  lead, 
and  be  the  first  to  advance.  You  that  are  willing  to 
follow,  poise  your  firelocks."  Not  a  firelock  but  was 
poised. 

They  mounted  the  hill  briskly,  but  in  silence,  guided 
by  a  boy  from  the  neighborhood.  The  day  dawned  as 
Allen  arrived  at  a  sally-port.  A  sentry  pulled  trigger  on 
him,  but  his  piece  missed  fire.  He  retreated  through  a 
covered  way.  Allen  and  his  men  followed.  Another 
sentry  thrust  at  Easton  with  his  bayonet,  but  was  struck 
down  by  Allen,  and  begged  for  quarter.  It  was  granted 
on  condition  of  his  leading  the  way  instantly  to  the  quar 
ters  of  the  commandant,  Captain  Delaplace,  who  was  yet 
in  bed.  Being  arrived  there,  Allen  thundered  at  the 
door,  and  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  fort.  By  this 
time  his  followers  had  formed  into  two  lines  on  the 
parade-ground,  and  given  three  hearty  cheers.  The 
commandant  appeared  at  his  door  half-dressed,  "  the 
frightened  face  of  his  pretty  wife  peering  over  his  shoul 
der."  He  gazed  at  Allen  in  bewildered  astonishment. 
"  By  whose  authority  do  you  act  ?  "  exclaimed  he.  "  In 
the  name  of  the  great  Jehovah,  and  the  Continental  Con- 


FALL  OF  TICONDEROOA  AND  CROWN  POINT.    5Q9 

gress ! "  replied  Allen,  with  a  flourish  of  his  sword,  and 
an  oath  which  we  do  not  care  to  subjoin. 

There  was  no  disputing  the  point.  The  garrison,  like 
the  commander,  had  been  startled  from  sleep,  and  made 
prisoners  as  they  rushed  forth  in  their  confusion.  A 
surrender  accordingly  took  place.  The  captain,  and 
forty-eight  men,  which  composed  his  garrison,  were  sent 
prisoners  to  Hartford  in  Connecticut.  A  great  supply 
of  military  and  naval  stores,  so  important  in  the  present 
crisis,  was  found  in  the  fortress. 

Colonel  Seth  Warner,  who  had  brought  over  the  resi 
due  of  the  party  from  Shoreham,  was  now  sent  with  a 
detachment  against  Crown  Point,  which  surrendered  on 
the  12th  of  May,  without  firing  a  gun;  the  whole  gar 
rison  being  a  sergeant  and  twelve  men.  Here  were  taken 
upward  of  a  hundred  cannon. 

Arnold  now  insisted  vehemently  on  his  right  to  com 
mand  Ticonderoga ;  being,  as  he  said,  the  only  officer 
invested  with  legal  authority.  His  claims  had  again  to 
yield  to  the  superior  popularity  of  Ethan  Allen,  to  whom 
the  Connecticut  committee,  which  had  accompanied  the 
enterprise,  gave  an  instrument  in  writing,  investing  him 
with  the  command  of  the  fortress  and  its  dependencies, 
until  he  should  receive  the  orders  of  the  Connecticut 
Assembly,  or  the  Continental  Congress.  Arnold,  while 
forced  to  acquiesce,  sent  a  protest,  and  a  statement  of 
his  grievances  to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  In  the 
meantime,  his  chagrin  was  appeased  by  a  new  project 


510  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  detachment  originally  sent  to  seize  upon  boats  at 
Skenesborough,  arrived  with  a  schooner,  and  several  ba 
teaux.  It  was  immediately  concerted  between  Allen  and 
Arnold  to  cruise  in  them  down  the  lake,  and  surprise 
St.  John's,  on  the  Sorel  River,  the  frontier  post  of 
Canada.  The  schooner  was  accordingly  armed  with 
cannon  from  the  fort.  Arnold,  who  had  been  a  sea 
man  in  his  youth,  took  the  command  of  her,  while 
Allen  and  his  Green  Mountain  Boys  embarked  in  the 
bateaux. 

Arnold  outsailed  the  other  craft,  and  arriving  at  St. 
John's,  surprised  and  made  prisoners  of  a  sergeant  and 
twelve  men ;  captured  a  king's  sloop  of  seventy  tons, 
with  two  brass  six-pounders  and  seven  men ;  took  four 
bateaux,  destroyed  several  others,  and  then,  learning  that 
troops  were  on  the  way  from  Montreal  and  Chamblee, 
spread  all  his  sails  to  a  favoring  breeze,  and  swept  up 
the  lake  with  his  prizes  and  prisoners,  and  some  valuable 
stores,  which  he  had  secured. 

He  had  not  sailed  far  when  he  met  Ethan  Allen  and 
the  bateaux.  Salutes  were  exchanged;  cannon  on  one 
side,  musketry  on  the  other.  Allen  boarded  the  sloop, 
learnt  from  Arnold  the  particulars  of  his  success,  and  de 
termined  to  push  on,  take  possession  of  St.  John's  and 
garrison  it  with  one  hundred  of  his  Green  Mountain 
Boys.  He  was  foiled  in  the  attempt  by  the  superior 
force  which  had  arrived ;  so  he  returned  to  his  station  at 
Ticonderoga. 


POSSESSION  OF  THE  HIGHWAY  TO  CANADA.    5H 

Thus  a  partisan  band,  unpracticed  in  the  art  of  war, 
had,  by  a  series  of  daring  exploits,  and  almost  without 
the  loss  of  a  man,  won  for  the  patriots  the  command  of 
Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  and  thrown  open  the  great 
highway  to  Canada. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

SBOOND  SESSION  OF  CONGRESS. —JOHN  HANCOCK.— PETITION  TO  THE  KING, 
— FEDERAL  UNION. —  MILITARY  MEASURES. — DEBATES  ABOUT  THE  ARMY. 
— QUESTION  AS  TO  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.  —  APPOINTMENT  OF  WASHING 
TON. — OTHER  APPOINTMENTS.  —  LETTERS  OF  WASHINGTON  TO  HIS  WIFE 
AND  BROTHER. — PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEPARTURE. 

second  General  Congress  assembled  at  Phil 
adelphia  on  the  10th  of  May.  Peyton  Kan- 
dolph  was  again  elected  as  president ;  but  be 
ing  obliged  to  return,  and  occupy  his  place  as  Speaker 
of  the  Virginia  Assembly,  John  Hancock  of  Massachu 
setts  was  elevated  to  the  chair. 

A  lingering  feeling  of  attachment  to  the  mother  coun 
try,  struggling  with  the  growing  spirit  of  self-government, 
was  manifested  in  the  proceedings  of  this  remarkable 
body.  Many  of  those  most  active  in  vindicating  colonial 
rights,  and  Washington  among  the  number,  still  indulged 
the  hope  of  an  eventual  reconciliation,  while  few  en 
tertained,  or  at  least  avowed,  the  idea  of  complete  inde 
pendence. 

A  second  "  humble  and  dutiful "  petition  to  the  king 
was  moved,  but  met  with  strong  opposition.  John 
Adams  condemned  it  as  an  imbecile  measure,  calculated 

512 


A  FEDERAL    UNION  FORMED.  513 

to  embarrass  the  proceedings  of  Congress.  He  was  for 
prompt  and  vigorous  action.  Other  members  concurred 
with  him.  Indeed,  the  measure  itself  seemed  but  a  mere 
form,  intended  to  reconcile  the  half-scrupulous ;  for  sub 
sequently,  when  it  was  carried,  Congress,  in  face  of  it, 
went  on  to  assume  and  exercise  the  powers  of  a  sover 
eign  authority.  A  federal  union  was  formed,  leaving  to 
each  colony  the  right  of  regulating  its  internal  affairs  ac 
cording  to  its  own  individual  constitution,  but  vesting  in 
Congress  the  power  of  making  peace  or  war  ;  of  entering 
into  treaties  and  alliances  ;  of  regulating  general  com 
merce  ;  in  a  word,  of  legislating  on  all  such  matters  as 
regarded  the  security  and  welfare  of  the  whole  com 
munity. 

The  executive  power  was  to  be  vested  in  a  council  of 
twelve,  chosen  by  Congress  from  among  its  own  mem 
bers,  and  to  hold  office  for  a  limited  time.  Such  colonies 
as  had  not  sent  delegates  to  Congress,  might  yet  become 
members  of  the  confederacy  by  agreeing  to  its  condi 
tions.  Georgia,  which  had  hitherto  hesitated,  soon 
joined  the  league,  which  thus  extended  from  Nova  Sco 
tia  to  Florida. 

Congress  lost  no  time  in  exercising  their  federated 
powers.  In  virtue  of  them,  they  ordered  the  enlistment 
of  troops,  the  construction  of  forts  in  various  parts  of  the 
colonies,  the  provision  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  military 
stores ;  while  to  defray  the  expenses  of  these,  and  other 
measures,  avowedly  of  self-defense,  they  authorized  the 
VOL.  i.— 33 


514  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON 

emission  of  notes  to  the  amount  of  three  millions  of  dol 
lars,  bearing  the  inscription  of  "  The  United  Colonies ; " 
the  faith  of  the  confederacy  being  pledged  for  their  re 
demption. 

A  retaliating  decree  was  passed,  prohibiting  all  sup 
plies  of  provisions  to  the  British  fisheries ;  and  another, 
declaring  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  absolved 
from  its  compact  with  the  crown,  by  the  violation  of  its 
charter;  and  recommending  it  to  form  an  internal  gov 
ernment  for  itself. 

The  public  sense  of  Washington's  military  talents  and 
experience  was  evinced  in  his  being  chairman  of  all  the 
committees  appointed  for  military  affairs.  Most  of  the 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  army,  and  the  measures  for 
defense,  were  devised  by  him. 

The  situation  of  the  New  England  army,  actually  be 
sieging  Boston,  became  an  early  and  absorbing  consid 
eration.  It  was  without  munitions  of  war,  without  arms, 
clothing,  or  pay ;  in  fact,  without  legislative  countenance 
or  encouragement.  Unless  sanctioned  and  assisted  by 
Congress,  there  was  danger  of  its  dissolution.  If  dis 
solved,  how  could  another  be  collected?  If  dissolved, 
what  would  there  be  to  prevent  the  British  from  sallying 
out  of  Boston,  and  spreading  desolation  throughout  the 
country  ? 

All  this  was  the  subject  of  much  discussion  out  of 
doors.  The  disposition  to  uphold  the  army  was  gen 
eral  ;  but  the  difficult  question  was,  who  should  be  com- 


THE  ARMY  QUESTIONS.  515 

mander-in-chief  ?  Adams,  in  his  diary,  gives  us  glimpses 
of  the  conflict  of  opinions  and  interests  within  doors. 
There  was  a  southern  party,  he  said,  which  could  not 
brook  the  idea  of  a  New  England  army,  commanded  by 
a  New  England  general.  "  Whether  this  jealousy  was 
sincere,"  writes  he,  "  or  whether  it  was  mere  pride,  and  a 
haughty  ambition  of  furnishing  a  southern  general  to 
command  the  northern  army,  I  cannot  say ;  but  the  in 
tention  was  very  visible  to  me,  that  Colonel  Washington 
was  their  object;  and  so  many  of  our  stanchest  men  were 
in  die  plan,  that  we  could  carry  nothing  without  conced 
ing  to  it.  There  was  another  embarrassment,  which  was 
never  publicly  known,  and  which  was  carefully  concealed 
by  those  who  knew  it :  the  Massachusetts  and  other  New 
England  delegates  were  divided.  Mr.  Hancock  and  Mr. 
Gushing  hung  back ;  Mr.  Paine  did  not  come  forward, 
and  even  Mr.  Samuel  Adams  was  irresolute.  Mr.  Han 
cock  himself  had  an  ambition  to  be  appointed  command- 
er-in-chief.  Whether  he  thought  an  election  a  compli 
ment  due  to  him,  and  intended  to  have  the  honor  of 
declining  it,  or  whether  he  would  have  accepted  it,  I 
know  not.  To  the  compliment,  he  had  some  preten 
sions  ;  for,  at  that  time,  his  exertions,  sacrifices,  and  gen 
eral  merits  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  had  been  incom 
parably  greater  than  those  of  Colonel  Washington.  But 
the  delicacy  of  his  health,  and  his  entire  want  of  expe 
rience  in  actual  service,  though  an  excellent  militia  officer, 
were  decisive  objections  to  him  in  my  mind.'* 


516  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

General  Charles  Lee  was  at  that  time  in  Philadelphia, 
His  former  visit  had  made  him  well  acquainted  with  the 
leading  members  of  Congress.  The  active  interest  he 
had  manifested  in  the  cause  was  well  known,  and  the 
public  had  an  almost  extravagant  idea  of  his  military 
qualifications.  He  was  of  foreign  birth,  however,  and  it 
was  deemed  improper  to  confide  the  supreme  command 
to  any  but  a  native-born  American.  In  fact,  if  he  was 
sincere  in  what  we  have  quoted  from  his  letter  to  Burke, 
he  did  not  aspire  to  such  a  signal  mark  of  confidence. 

The  opinion  evidently  inclined  in  favor  of  "Washington ; 
yet  it  was  promoted  by  no  clique  of  partisans  or  ad 
mirers.  More  than  one  of  the  Virginia  delegates,  says 
Adams,  were  cool  011  the  subject  of  this  appointment; 
and,  particularly,  Mr.  Pendleton  was  clear  and  full  against 
it.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  Washington  in 
this,  as  in  every  other  situation  in  life,  made  no  step  in 
advance  to  clutch  the  impending  honor. 

Adams,  in  his  diary,  claims  the  credit  of  bringing  the 
members  of  Congress  to  a  decision.  Rising  in  his  place, 
one  day,  and  stating  briefly,  but  earnestly,  the  exigencies 
of  the  case,  he  moved  that  Congress  should  adopt  the 
army  at  Cambridge,  and  appoint  a  general.  Though  this 
was  not  the  time  to  nominate  the  person,  "  yet,"  adds  he, 
"  as  I  had  reason  to  believe  this  was  a  point  of  some  diffi 
culty,  I  had  no  hesitation  to  declare,  that  I  had  but  one 
gentleman  in  my  mind  for  that  important  command,  and 
that  was  a  gentleman  from  Virginia,  who  was  among  ua 


NOMINATION  OF  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.         517 

and  very  well  known  to  all  of  us ;  a  gentleman,  whose 
skill  and  experience  as  an  officer,  whose  independent  for 
tune,  great  talents,  and  excellent  universal  character 
would  command  the  approbation  of  all  America,  and 
unite  the  cordial  exertions  of  all  the  colonies  better  than 
any  other  person  in  the  Union.  Mr.  "Washington,  who 
happened  to  sit  near  the  door,  as  soon  as  he  heard  me 
allude  to  him,  from  his  usual  modesty,  darted  into  the 
library-room.  Mr.  Hancock,  who  was  our  president, 
which  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  observe  his  counte 
nance,  while  I  was  speaking  on  the  state  of  the  colonies, 
the  army  at  Cambridge,  and  the  enemy,  heard  me  with 
visible  pleasure  ;  but  when  I  came  to  describe  Washing 
ton  for  the  commander,  I  never  remarked  a  more  sudden 
and  striking  change  of  countenance.  Mortification  and 
resentment  were  expressed  as  forcibly  as  his  face  could 
exhibit  them." 

"When  the  subject  came  under  debate,  several  dele 
gates  opposed  the  appointment  of  Washington ;  not  from 
personal  affections,  but  because  the  army  were  all  from 
New  England,  and  had  a  general  of  their  own,  General 
Artemas  Ward,  with  whom  they  appeared  well  satisfied ; 
and  under  whose  command  they  had  proved  themselves 
able  to  imprison  the  British  army  in  Boston ;  which  was 
all  that  was  to  be  expected  or  desired." 

The  subject  was  postponed  to  a  future  day.  In  the 
interim,  pains  were  taken  out  of  doors  to  obtain  a  una 
nimity,  and  the  voices  were  in  general  so  clearly  in  favor 


518  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

of  Washington,  that  the  dissentient  members  \*-?re  per 
suaded  to  withdraw  their  opposition. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  the  army  was  regularly  adopted 
by  Congress,  and  the  pay  of  the  Commander-in-chief 
fixed  at  five  hundred  dollars  a  month.  Many  still  clung 
to  the  idea,  that  in  all  these  proceedings  they  were 
merely  opposing  the  measures  of  the  ministry,  and  net 
the  authority  of  the  crown,  and  thus  the  army  before 
Boston  was  designated  as  the  Continental  Army,  in  con 
tradistinction  to  that  under  General  Gage,  which  was 
called  the  Ministerial  Army. 

In  this  stage  of  the  business,  Mr.  Johnson  of  Maryland, 
rose,  and  nominated  Washington  for  the  station  of  com- 
mander-in-chief.  The  election  was  by  ballot,  and  was 
unanimous.  It  was  formally  announced  to  him  by  the 
president,  on  the  following  day,  when  he  had  taken  his 
seat  in  Congress.  Eising  in  his  place,  he  briefly  ex 
pressed  his  high  and  grateful  sense  of  the  honor  con 
ferred  on  him,  and  his  sincere  devotion  to  the  cause. 
"  But,"  added  he,  "  lest  some  unlucky  event  should  hap 
pen  unfavorable  to  my  reputation,  I  beg  it  may  be  re 
membered  by  every  gentleman  in  the  room,  that  I  this 
day  declare,  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  I  do  not  think 
myself  equal  to  the  command  I  am  honored  with.  A&  to 
pay,  I  beg  leave  to  assure  the  Congress  that,  as  no  pecu 
niary  consideration  could  have  tempted  me  to  accept 
this  arduous  employment,  at  the  expense  of  my  domes 
tic  ease  and  happiness,  I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  profit 


OTHER  APPOINTMENTS.  519 

of  it.  I  will  keep  an  exact  account  of  my  expenses. 
Those,  I  doubt  not,  they  will  discharge,  and  that  is  all  I 
desire." 

"There  is  something  charming  to  me  in  the  conduct 
of  Washington,"  writes  Adams  to  a  friend;  "a  gentle 
man  of  one  of  the  first  fortunes  upon  the  continent,  leaving 
his  delicious  retirement,  his  family  and  friends,  sacrific 
ing  his  ease,  and  hazarding  all,  in  the  cause  of  his  coun 
try.  His  views  are  noble  and  disinterested.  He  de 
clared,  when  he  accepted  the  mighty  trust,  that  he  would 
lay  before  us  an  exact  account  of  his  expenses,  and  not 
accept  a  shilling  of  pay." 

Four  major-generals  were  to  be  appointed.  Among 
those  specified  were  General  Charles  Lee  and  General 
"Ward.  Mr.  Mifflin  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  Lee's  espe 
cial  friend  and  admirer,  urged  that  he  should  be  second 
in  command.  "General  Lee,"  said  he,  "would  serve 
cheerfully  under  "Washington  ;  but  considering  his  rank, 
character,  and  experience,  could  not  be  expected  to  serve 
under  any  other.  He  must  be  aut  secundus,  aut  nullus. 

Adams,  on  the  other  hand,  as  strenuously  objected  that 
it  would  be  a  great  deal  to  expect  that  General  Ward, 
who  was  actually  in  command  of  the  army  of  Boston, 
should  serve  under  any  man ;  but  under  a  stranger  he 
ought  not  to  serve.  General  Ward,  accordingly,  was 
elected  the  second  in  command,  and  Lee  the  third.  The 
other  two  major-generals  were,  Philip  Schuyler  of  New 
York,  and  Israel  Putnam  of  Connecticut.  Eight  brigadier- 


520  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

generals  were  likewise  appointed ;  Seth  Pomeroy,  Richard 
Montgomery,  David  Wooster,  William  Heath,  Joseph 
Spencer,  John  Thomas,  John  Sullivan,  and  Nathaniel 
Greene. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Mifflin's  objections  to  having  Lee 
ranked  under  Ward,  as  being  beneath  his  dignity  and 
merits,  he  himself  made  no  scruple  to  acquiesce ;  though, 
judging  from  his  supercilious  character,  and  from  circum 
stances  in  his  subsequent  conduct,  he  no  doubt  consid 
ered  himself  vastly  superior  to  the  provincial  officers 
placed  over  him. 

At  Washington's  express  request,  his  old  friend,  Major 
Horatio  Gates,  then  absent  at  his  estate  in  Virginia,  was 
appointed  adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of  brigadier. 

Adams,  according  to  his  own  account,  was  extremely 
loth  to  admit  Lee  or  Gates  into  the  American  service, 
although  he  considered  them  officers  of  great  experience 
and  confessed  abilities.  He  apprehended  difficulties,  he 
said,  from  the  "natural  prejudices  and  virtuous  attach 
ment  of  our  countrymen  to  their  own  officers."  "  But," 
adds  he,  "considering  the  earnest  desire  of  General 
Washington  to  have  the  assistance  of  those  officers,  the 
extreme  attachment  of  many  of  our  best  friends  in  the 
southern  colonies  to  them,  the  reputation  they  would  give 
to  our  arms  in  Europe,  and  especially  with  the  ministerial 
generals  and  army  in  Boston,  as  well  as  the  real  American 
merit  of  both,  I  could  not  withhold  my  vote  from  either." 

The  reader  will  possibly  call  these  circumstances  to 


LETTER  TO  MRS.   WASHINGTON.  521 

mind  when,  on  a  future  page,  he  finds  how  Lee  and  Gates 
requited  the  friendship  to  which  chiefly  they  owed  their 
appointments. 

In  this  momentous  change  in  his  condition,  which  sud 
denly  altered  all  his  course  of  life,  and  called  him  imme 
diately  to  the  camp,  Washington's  thoughts  recurred  to 
Mount  Vernon,  and  its  rural  delights,  so  dear  to  his 
heart,  whence  he  was  to  be  again  exiled.  His  chief  con 
cern,  however,  was  on  account  of  the  distress  it  might 
cause  to  his  wife.  His  letter  to  her  on  the  subject  is 
written  in  a  tone  of  manly  tenderness.  "  You  may  believe 
me,"  writes  he,  "  when  I  assure  you,  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  that,  so  far  from  seeking  this  appointment,  I 
have  used  every  endeavor  in  my  power  to  avoid  it,  not 
only  from  my  unwillingness  to  part  with  you  and  the 
family,  but  from  a  consciousness  of  its  being  a  trust  too 
great  for  my  capacity ;  and  I  should  enjoy  more  real  hap 
piness  in  one  month  with  you  at  home  than  I  have  the 
most  distant  prospect  of  finding  abroad,  if  my  stay  were 
to  be  seven  times  seven  years.  But  as  it  has  been  a  kind 
of  destiny  that  has  thrown  me  upon  this  service,  I  shall 
hope  that  my  undertaking  it  is  designed  to  answer  some 
good  purpose 

"I  shall  rely  confidently  on  that  Providence  which 
has  hitherfore  preserved,  and  been  bountiful  to  me,  not 
doubting  but  that  I  shall  return  safe  to  you  in  the  fall. 
I  shall  feel  no  pain  from  the  toil  or  danger  of  the  cam 
paign  ;  my  unhappiness  will  flow  from  the  uneasiness  I 


522  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

know  you  will  feel  from  being  left  alone.  I  therefore 
beg  that  you  will  summon  your  whole  fortitude,  and  pass 
your  time  as  agreeably  as  possible.  Nothing  will  give 
me  so  much  sincere  satisfaction  as  to  hear  this,  and  to 
hear  it  from  your  own  pen." 

And  to  his  favorite  brother,  John  Augustine,  he  writes : 
"  I  am  now  to  bid  adieu  to  you,  and  to  every  kind  of 
domestic  ease,  for  a  while.  I  am  embarked  on  a  wide 
ocean,  boundless  in  its  prospect,  and  in  which,  perhaps, 
no  safe  harbor  is  to  be  found.  I  have  been  called  upon 
by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  colonies  to  take  the  com 
mand  of  the  continental  army ;  an  honor  I  neither  sought 
after,  nor  desired,  as  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  it 
requires  great  abilities,  and  much  more  experience  than 
I  am  master  of."  And  subsequently,  referring  to  his 
wife :  "  I  shall  hope  that  my  friends  will  visit,  and  en 
deavor  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  my  wife  as  much  as  they 
can,  for  my  departure  will,  I  know,  be  a  cutting  stroke 
upon  her ;  and  on  this  account  alone  I  have  many  dis 
agreeable  sensations." 

On  the  20th  of  June,  he  received  his  commission  from 
the  President  of  Congress.  The  following  day  was  fixed 
upon  for  his  departure  for  the  army.  He  reviewed  pre 
viously,  at  the  request  of  their  officers,  several  militia 
companies  of  horse  and  foot.  Every  one  was  anx 
ious  to  see  the  new  commander,  and  rarely  has  the  pub 
lic  beau  ideal  of  a  commander  been  so  fully  answered. 
He  was  now  in  the  vigor  of  his  days,  forty-three  years 


NATIONAL  REJOICING.  523 

of  age,  stately  in  person,  noble  in  his  demeanor,  calm 
and  dignified  in  his  deportment;  as  he  sat  his  horse, 
with  manly  grace,  his  military  presence  delighted  every 
eye,  and  wherever  he  went  the  air  rang  with  acclama 
tions. 


CHAPTEK  XL. 


STOBE  TBOOPS  ABBIVE  AT  BOSTON.— GENERALS  HOWE,  BUBGOYNE,  AND  CLIN 
TON.— PBOCLAMATION  OF  GAGE.— NATUBE  OF  THE  AMEBICAN  ABMY.— SCORN 
FUL  CONDUCT  OF  THE  BBITISH  OFFICEES.— PBOJECT  OF  THE  AMEBICANS  TO 

SEIZE  UPON  BBEED'S  HILL. — PUTNAM'S  OPINION  OF  IT. — SANCTIONED  BY 
PBESCOTT. — NOCTUBNAL  MABCH  OF  THE  DETACHMENT. — FOBTIFYING  OF 
BUNKER'S  HILL.— BBEAK  or  DAY,  AND  ASTONISHMENT  OF  THE  ENEMY. 


HILE  Congress  had  been  deliberating  on  the 
adoption  of  the  army,  and  the  nomination  of  a 
commander-in-chief,  events  had  been  thicken 
ing  and  drawing  to  a  crisis  in  the  excited  region  about 
Boston.  The  provincial  troops  which  blockaded  the 
town  prevented  supplies  by  land,  the  neighboring  coun 
try  refused  to  furnish  them  by  water ;  fresh  provisions 
and  vegetables  were  no  longer  to  be  procured,  and  Bos 
ton  began  to  experience  the  privations  of  a  besieged  city. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  arrived  ships  of  war  and  trans 
ports  from  England,  bringing  large  reinforcements,  under 
Generals  Howe,  Burgoyne,  and  Henry  Clinton,  command 
ers  of  high  reputation. 

As  the  ships  entered  the  harbor,  and  the  "  rebel  camp  " 
was  pointed  out, — ten  thousand  yeomanry  beleaguering  a 
town  garrisoned  by  five  thousand  regulars, — Burgoyne 


MARTIAL   LAW.  525 

could  not  restrain  a  burst  of  surprise  and  scorn.  "  What ! " 
cried  he,  "ten  thousand  peasants  keep  five  thousand 
king's  troops  shut  up !  Well,  let  us  get  in,  and  we'll 
soon  find  elbow-room." 

Inspirited  by  these  reinforcements,  General  Gage  de- 
tormined  to  take  the  field.  Previously,  however  in  con 
formity  to  instructions  from  Lord  Dartmouth,  the  head 
of  the  war  department,  he  issued  a  proclamation  (12th 
June),  putting  the  province  under  martial  law,  threaten 
ing  to  treat  as  rebels  and  traitors  all  malcontents  who 
should  continue  under  arms,  together  with  their  aiders 
and  abettors  ;  but  offering  pardon  to  all  who  should  lay 
down  their  arms,  and  return  to  their  allegiance.  From 
this  proffered  amnesty,  however,  John  Hancock  and  Sam 
uel  Adams  were  especially  excepted ;  their  offenses  being 
pronounced  too  "  flagitious  not  to  meet  with  condign  pun 
ishment." 

This  proclamation  only  served  to  put  the  patriots  on 
the  alert  against  such  measures  as  might  be  expected  to 
follow,  and  of  which  their  friends  in  Boston  stood  ready 
to  apprise  them.  The  besieging  force,  in  the  meantime, 
was  daily  augmented  by  recruits  and  volunteers,  and  now 
amounted  to  about  fifteen  thousand  men  distributed  at 
various  points.  Its  character  and  organization  were  pe 
culiar.  As  has  well  been  observed,  it  could  not  be  called 
a  national  army,  for,  as  yet,  there  was  no  nation  to  own 
it ;  it  was  not  under  the  authority  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  the  act  of  that  body  recognizing  it  not  having 


526  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

as  yet  been  passed,  and  the  authority  of  that  body  itself 
not  having  been  acknowledged.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  for 
tuitous  assemblage  of  four  distinct  bodies  of  troops,  be 
longing  to  different  provinces,  and  each  having  a  leader 
of  its  own  election.  About  ten  thousand  belonged  to 
Massachusetts,  and  were  under  the  command  of  General 
Artemas  "Ward,  whose  head-quarters  were  at  Cambridge. 
Another  body  of  troops,  under  Colonel  John  Stark, 
already  mentioned,  came  from  New  Hampshire.  Khode 
Island  furnished  a  third,  under  the  command  of  General 
Nathaniel  Greene.  A  fourth  was  from  Connecticut,  under 
the  veteran  Putnam. 

These  bodies  of  troops,  being  from  different  colonies, 
were  independent  of  each  other,  and  had  their  several 
commanders.  Those  from  New  Hampshire  were  in 
structed  to  obey  General  Ward  as  commander-in-chief ; 
with  the  rest  it  was  a  voluntary  act,  rendered  in  consid 
eration  of  his  being  military  chief  of  Massachusetts,  the 
province  which,  as  allies,  they  came  to  defend.  There 
was,  in  fact,  but  little  organization  in  the  army.  Noth 
ing  kept  it  together,  and  gave  it  unity  of  action,  but  a 
common  feeling  of  exasperated  patriotism. 

The  troops  knew  but  little  of  military  discipline.  Al 
most  all  were  familiar  with  the  use  of  fire-arms  in  hunt 
ing  and  fowling ;  many  had  served  in  frontier  campaigns 
against  the  French,  and  in  "  bush-fighting  "  with  the  In 
dians  ;  but  none  were  acquainted  with  regular  service 
or  the  discipline  of  European  armies.  There  was  a  regi- 


THE  PATRIOT  ARMY.  52? 

ment  of  artillery,  partly  organized  by  Colonel  Gridley, 
a  skillful  engineer,  and  furnished  with  nine  field-pieces ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  the  troops  were  without  military 
dress  or  accoutrements ;  most  of  them  were  hasty  levies 
of  yeomanry,  some  of  whom  had  seized  their  rifles  and 
fowling-pieces,  and  turned  out  in  their  working-clothes 
and  homespun  country  garbs.  It  was  an  army  of  volun 
teers,  subordinate  through  inclination  and  respect  to 
officers  of  their  own  choice,  and  depending  for  sustenance 
on  supplies  sent  from  their  several  towns. 

Such  was  the  army  spread  over  an  extent  of  ten  or 
twelve  miles,  and  keeping  watch  upon  the  town  of  Boston, 
containing  at  that  time  a  population  of  seventeen  thou 
sand  souls,  and  garrisoned  with  more  than  ten  thousand 
British  troops,  disciplined  and  experienced  in  the  wars 
of  Europe. 

In  the  disposition  of  these  forces,  General  Ward  had 
stationed  himself  at  Cambridge,  with  the  main  body  of 
about  nine  thousand  men  and  four  companies  of  artil 
lery.  Lieutenant-general  Thomas,  second  in  command, 
was  posted,  with  five  thousand  Massachusetts,  Connecti 
cut,  and  Rhode  Island  troops,  and  three  or  four  com 
panies  of  artillery,  at  Eoxbury  and  Dorchester,  forming 

he  right  wing  of  the  army ;  while  the  left,  composed  in 

«  great    measure   of  New  Hampshire  troops,  stretched 

trough  Medford  to  the  hills  of  Chelsea. 
It  was  a  great  annoyance  to  the  British  officers  and 

soliers,  to  be  thus  hemmed  in  by  what  they  termed  a 


528  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

rustic  rout  with  calico  frocks  and  fowling-pieces.  The 
same  scornful  and  taunting  spirit  prevailed  among  them, 
that  the  cavaliers  of  yore  indulged  toward  the  Cove 
nanters.  Considering  Episcopacy  as  the  only  loyal  and 
royal  faith,  they  insulted  and  desecrated  the  "  sectarian  " 
places  of  worship.  One  was  turned  into  a  riding-school 
for  the  cavalry,  and  the  fire  in  the  stove  was  kindled 
with  books  from  the  library  of  its  pastor.  The  pro 
vincials  retaliated  by  turning  the  Episcopal  church  at 
Cambridge  into  a  barrack,  and  melting  down  its  organ- 
pipes  into  bullets. 

Both  parties  panted  for  action ;  the  British  through 
impatience  of  their  humiliating  position,  and  an  eager 
ness  to  chastise  what  they  considered  the  presumption  of 
their  besiegers;  the  provincials  through  enthusiasm  in 
their  cause,  a  thirst  for  enterprise  and  exploit,  and,  it 
must  be  added,  an  unconsciousness  of  their  own  military 
deficiencies. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  peninsula  of  Charles- 
town  (called  from  a  village  of  the  same  name),  which  lies 
opposite    to   the   north   side   of  Boston.     The   heights, 
which  swell  up  in  rear  of  the  village,  overlook  the  town 
and  shipping.     The  project  was  conceived  in  the  besieg 
ing  camp  to  seize  and  occupy  those  heights.     A  counci7 
of  war  was  held  upon  the  subject.     The  arguments  i 
favor  of  the  attempt  were,  that  the  army  was  anxious  ^> 
be  employed  ;  that  the  country  was  dissatisfied  at  its  > 
activity,  and  that  the  enemy  might  thus  be  drawn  ou  to 


PROJECT  OF  THE  PATRIOTS.  529 

ground  where  they  might  be  fought  to  advantage.  Gen 
eral  Putnam  was  one  of  the  most  strenuous  in  favor  of 
the  measure. 

Some  of  the  more  wary  and  judicious,  among  whom 
were  General  Ward  and  Dr.  Warren,  doubted  the  expe 
diency  of  intrenching  themselves  on  those  heights,  and 
the  possibility  of  maintaining  so  exposed  a  post,  scantily 
furnished,  as  they  were,  with  ordnance  and  ammunition. 
Besides,  it  might  bring  on  a  general  engagement,  which 
it  was  not  safe  to  risk. 

Putnam  made  light  of  the  danger.  He  was  confident 
of  the  bravery  of  the  militia  if  intrenched,  having  seen 
it  tried  in  the  old  French  war.  "  The  Americans,"  said 
he,  "  are  never  afraid  of  their  heads  ;  they  are  only  afraid 
of  their  legs ;  shelter  them,  and  they'll  fight  forever." 
He  was  seconded  by  General  Pomeroy,  a  leader  of  like 
stamp,  and  another  veteran  of  the  French  war.  He  had 
been  a  hunter  in  his  time ;  a  dead  shot  with  the  rifle, 
and  was  ready  to  lead  troops  against  the  enemy,  "  with 
five  cartridges  to  a  man." 

The  daring  councils  of  such  men  are  always  captiva 
ting  to  the  inexperienced ;  but  in  the  present  instance, 
they  were  sanctioned  by  one  whose  opinion  in  such  mat 
ters,  and  in  this  vicinity,  possessed  peculiar  weight. 
This  was  Colonel  William  Prescott  of  Pepperell,  who 
commanded  a  regiment  of  minute  men.  He,  too,  had 
seen  service  in  the  French  war,  and  acquired  reputation 
as  a  lieutenant  of  infantry  at  the  capture  of  Cape  Breton. 
VOL.  i. — 34 


530  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

This  was  sufficient  to  constitute  him  an  oracle  in  the 
present  instance.  He  was  now  about  fifty  years  of  age, 
tall  and  commanding  in  his  appearance,  and  retaining 
the  port  of  a  soldier.  What  was  more,  he  had  a  military 
garb ;  being  equipped  with  a  three-cornered  hat,  a  top  wig, 
and  a  single-breasted  blue  coat,  with  facings,  and  lapped 
up  at  the  skirts.  All  this  served  to  give  him  conse 
quence  among  the  rustic  militia  officers  with  whom  he 
was  in  council. 

His  opinion,  probably,  settled  the  question  ;  and  it  was 
determined  to  seize  on  and  fortify  Bunker's  Hill  and 
Dorchester  Heights.  In  deference,  however,  to  the  sug 
gestions  of  the  more  cautious,  it  was  agreed  to  postpone 
the  measure  until  they  were  sufficiently  supplied  with 
the  munitions  of  war  to  be  able  to  maintain  the  heights 
when  seized. 

Secret  intelligence  hurried  forward  the  project.  Gen 
eral  Gage,  it  is  said,  intended  to  take  possession  of 
Dorchester  Heights  on  the  night  of  the  18th  of  June. 
These  heights  lay  on  the  opposite  side  of  Boston,  and  the 
committee  were  ignorant  of  their  localities.  Those  on 
Charlestown  Neck,  being  near  at  hand,  had  some  time 
before  been  reconnoitered  by  Colonel  Eichard  Gridley, 
and  other  of  the  engineers.  It  was  determined  to  seize 
and  fortify  these  heights  on  the  night  of  Friday  the  16th 
of  June,  in  anticipation  of  the  movement  of  General 
Gage.  Troops  were  drafted  for  the  purpose  from  the 
Massachusetts  regiments  of  Colonels  Prescott,  Frye, 


FOHTIFY1NG  BUNKER'S  HILL.  53], 

and  Bridges.  There  was  also  a  fatigue  party  of  about 
two  hundred  men  from  Putnam's  Connecticut  troops,  led 
by  his  favorite  officer,  Captain  Knowlton,  together  with 
a  company  of  forty-nine  artillery  men,  with  two  field- 
pieces,  commanded  by  Captain  Samuel  Gridley. 

A  little  before  sunset  the  troops,  about  twelve  hun 
dred  in  all,  assembled  on  the  common,  in  front  of  Gen 
eral  Ward's  quarters.  They  came  provided  with  packs, 
blankets,  and  provisions  for  four-and-twenty  hours,  but 
ignorant  of  the  object  of  the  expedition.  Being  all 
paraded,  prayers  were  offered  up  by  the  reverend  Presi 
dent  Langdon  of  Harvard  College,  after  which  they  all 
set  forward  on  their  silent  march. 

Colonel  Prescott,  from  his  experience  in  military  mat 
ters,  and  his  being  an  officer  in  the  Massachusetts  line, 
had  been  chosen  by  General  Ward  to  conduct  the  enter 
prise.  His  written  orders  were  to  fortify  Bunker's  Hill, 
and  defend  the  works  until  he  should  be  relieved. 
Colonel  Richard  Gridley,  the  chief  engineer,  who  had 
likewise  served  in  the  French  war,  was  to  accompany 
him  and  plan  the  fortifications.  It  was  understood  that 
reinforcements  and  refreshments  would  be  sent  to  the 
fatigue  party  in  the  morning. 

The  detachment  left  Cambridge  about  nine  o'clock, 
Colonel  Prescott  taking  the  lead,  preceded  by  two  ser 
geants  with  dark  lanterns.  At  Charlestown  Neck  they 
were  joined  by  Major  Brooks,  of  Bridges'  regiment,  and 
General  Putnam ;  and  here  were  the  wagons  laden  with 


532  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON 

intrenching  tools,  which  first  gave  the  men  an  indication 
of  the  enterprise. 

Charlestown  Neck  is  a  narrow  isthmus,  connecting  the 
peninsula  with  the  main  land ;  having  the  Mystic  Eiver, 
about  half  a  mile  wide,  on  the  north,  and  a  large  embay- 
rnent  of  Charles  Eiver  on  the  south  or  right  side. 

It  was  now  necessary  to  proceed  with  the  utmost  cau 
tion,  for  they  were  coming  on  ground  over  which  the 
British  kept  jealous  watch.  They  had  erected  a  battery 
at  Boston  on  Copp's  Hill,  immediately  opposite  to 
Charlestown.  Five  of  their  vessels  of  war  were  sta 
tioned  so  as  to  bear  upon  the  peninsula  from  different 
directions,  and  the  guns  of  one  of  them  swept  the  isth 
mus,  or  narrow  neck  just  mentioned. 

Across  this  isthmus  Colonel  Prescott  conducted  the 
detachment  undiscovered,  and  up  the  ascent  of  Bunker's 
Hill.  This  commences  at  the  Neck,  and  slopes  up  for 
about  three  hundred  yards  to  its  summit,  which  is  about 
one  hundred  and  twelve  feet  high.  It  then  declines  to 
ward  the  south,  and  is  connected  by  a  ridge  with  Breed's 
Hill  about  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high.  The  crests  of  the 
two  hills  are  about  seven  hundred  yards  apart. 

On  attaining  the  heights,  a  question  rose  which  of  the 
two  they  should  proceed  to  fortify.  Bunker's  Hill  was 
specified  in  the  written  orders  given  to  Colonel  Prescott 
by  General  Ward,  but  Breed's  Hill  was  much  nearer  to 
Boston,  and  had  a  better  command  of  the  town  and  ship 
ping.  Bunker's  Hill,  also,  being  on  the  upper  and  nar- 


ON  PATROL.  533 

rower  part  of  the  peninsula,  was  itself  commanded  bj 
the  same  ship  which  raked  the  Neck.  Putnam  was  clea] 
for  commencing  the  principal  work  there,  while  a  minoi 
work  might  be  thrown  up  at  Bunker's  Hill,  as  a  protec 
tion  in  the  rear,  and  a  rallying  point,  in  case  of  being 
driven  out  of  the  main  work.  Others  concurred  witt 
this  opinion,  yet  there  was  a  hesitation  in  deviating  from 
the  letter  of  their  orders.  At  length  Colonel  Gridley 
became  impatient;  the  night  was  waning;  delay  might 
prostrate  the  whole  enterprise.  Breed's  Hill  was  then 
determined  on.  Gridley  marked  out  the  lines  for  the 
fortifications ;  the  men  stacked  their  guns ;  threw  off 
their  packs ;  seized  their  trenching  tools,  and  set  to 
work  with  great  spirit ;  but  so  much  time  had  been 
wasted  in  discussion,  that  it  was  midnight  before  they 
struck  the  first  spade  into  the  ground. 

Prescott,  who  felt  the  responsibility  of  his  charge,  al 
most  despaired  of  carrying  on  these  operations  undis 
covered.  A  party  was  sent  out  by  him  silently  to  patrol 
the  shore  at  the  foot  of  the  heights,  and  watch  for  any 
movement  of  the  enemy.  Not  willing  to  trust  entirely  to 
the  vigilance  of  others,  he  twice  went  down  during  the 
night  to  the  water's  edge  —  reconnoitering  everything 
scrupulously,  and  noting  every  sight  and  sound.  It  was 
a  warm,  still,  summer's  night ;  the  stars  shone  brightly, 
but  everything  was  quiet.  Boston  was  buried  in  sleep, 
The  sentry's  cry  of  "  All's  well  "  could  be  heard  distinctly 
from  its  shores,  together  with  the  drowsy  calling  of  the 


534  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

watch  on  board  of  the  ships  of  war,  and  then  all  would 
relapse  into  silence.  Satisfied  that  the  enemy  were  per 
fectly  unconscious  of  what  was  going  on  upon  the  hill, 
he  returned  to  the  works,  and  a  little  before  daybreak 
called  in  the  patrolling  party. 

So  spiritedly,  though  silently,  had  the  labor  been  car 
ried  on,  that  by  morning  a  strong  redoubt  was  thrown 
up  as  a  main  work,  flanked  on  the  left  by  a  breastwork, 
partly  cannon-proof,  extending  down  the  crest  of  Breed's 
Hill  to  a  piece  of  marshy  ground  called  the  Slough.  To 
support  the  right  of  the  redoubt,  some  troops  were 
thrown  into  the  village  of  Charlestown,  at  the  southern 
foot  of  the  hill.  The  great  object  of  Prescott's  solicitude 
was  now  attained,  a  sufficient  bulwark  to  screen  his  men 
before  they  should  be  discovered ;  for  he  doubted  the 
possibility  of  keeping  raw  recruits  to  their  post,  if  openly 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  artillery,  and  the  attack  of  disci 
plined  troops. 

At  dawn  of  day,  the  Americans  at  work  were  espied  by 
the  sailors  on  board  of  the  ships  of  war,  and  the  alarm 
was  given.  The  captain  of  the  Lively,  the  nearest  ship, 
without  waiting  for  orders,  put  a  spring  upon  her  cable, 
and  bringing  her  guns  to  bear,  opened  a  fire  upon  the 
hill.  The  other  ships  and  a  floating  battery  followed  his 
example.  Their  shot  did  no  mischief  to  the  works,  but 
one  man,  among  a  number  who  had  incautiously  ventured 
outside,  was  killed.  A  subaltern  reported  his  death  to 
Colonel  Prescott,  and  asked  what  was  to  be  done.  "  Bury 


PRESCOTT 'S  INFLUENCE  ON  HIS  MEN.  535 

him,"  was  the  reply.  The  chaplain  gathered  some  of  his 
military  flock  around  him,  and  was  proceeding  to  per 
form  suitable  obsequies  over  the  "first  martyr,"  but 
Prescott  ordered  that  the  men  should  disperse  to  their 
work,  and  the  deceased  be  buried  immediately.  It 
seemed  shocking  to  men  accustomed  to  the  funeral  so 
lemnities  of  peaceful  life  to  bury  a  man  without  prayers, 
but  Prescott  saw  that  the  sight  of  this  man  suddenly  shot 
down  had  agitated  the  nerves  of  his  comrades,  unaccus 
tomed  to  scenes  of  war.  Some  of  them,  in  fact,  quietly 
left  the  hill,  and  did  not  return  to  it. 

To  inspire  confidence  by  example,  Prescott  now 
mounted  the  parapet,  and  walked  leisurely  about,  in 
specting  the  works,  giving  directions,  and  talking  cheer 
fully  with  the  men.  In  a  little  while  they  got  over  their 
dread  of  cannon-balls,  and  some  even  made  them  a  sub 
ject  of  joke,  or  rather  bravado — a  species  of  sham  cour 
age  occasionally  manifested  by  young  soldiers,  but  never 
by  veterans. 

The  cannonading  roused  the  town  of  Boston.  General 
Gage  could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes  when  he  beheld  or 
the  opposite  hill  a  fortification  full  of  men,  which  had 
sprung  up  in  the  course  of  the  night.  As  he  reconnoi- 
tered  it  through  a  glass  from  Copp's  Hill,  the  tall  figure 
of  Prescott,  in  military  garb,  walking  the  parapet,  caught 
his  eye.  "Who  is  that  officer  who  appears  in  com 
mand  ?  "  asked  he.  The  question  was  answered  by  Coun 
selor  Willard,  Prescott's  brother-in-law,  who  was  at  hand, 


536  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

and  recognized  his  relative.  "  Will  he  fight?"  demanded 
Gage,  quickly.  "  Yes,  sir  !  he  is  an  old  soldier,  and  will 
fight  to  the  last  drop  of  blood ;  but  I  cannot  answer  for 
his  men." 

"  The  works  must  be  carried ! "  exclaimed  Gage. 

He  called  a  council  of  war.  The  Americans  might 
intend  to  cannonade  Boston  from  this  new  fortification ; 
it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  dislodge  them.  How  was 
this  to  be  done  ?  A  majority  of  the  council,  including 
Clinton  and  Grant,  advised  that  a  force  should  be  landed 
on  Charlestown  Neck,  under  the  protection  of  their  bat 
teries,  so  as  to  attack  the  Americans  in  rear,  and  cut  off 
their  retreat.  General  Gage  objected  that  it  would  place 
his  troops  between  two  armies ;  one  at  Cambridge,  supe 
rior  in  numbers,  the  other  on  the  heights,  strongly  for 
tified.  He  was  for  landing  in  front  of  the  works,  and 
pushing  directly  up  the  hill;  a  plan  adopted  through 
a  confidence  that  raw  militia  would  never  stand  their 
ground  against  the  assault  of  veteran  troops — another 
instance  of  undervaluing  the  American  spirit,  which  was 
to  cost  the  enemy  a  lamentable  loss  of  life. 


CHAPTER  XLL 

BATTLE  OP  BUNKER'S  HILL; 

HE  sound  of  drum  and  trumpet,  the  clatter  of 
hoofs,  the  rattling  of  gun-carriages,  and  all  the 
other  military  din  and  bustle  in  the  streets  of 
Boston,  soon  apprised  the  Americans  on  their  rudely 
fortified  height  of  an  impending  attack.  They  were  ill- 
fitted  to  withstand  it,  being  jaded  by  the  night's  labor, 
and  want  of  sleep ;  hungry  and  thirsty,  having  brought 
but  scanty  supplies,  and  oppressed  by  the  heat  of  the 
weather.  Prescott  sent  repeated  messages  to  General 
Ward,  asking  reinforcements  and  provisions.  Putnam 
seconded  the  request  in  person,  urging  the  exigencies 
of  the  case.  Ward  hesitated.  He  feared  to  weaken  his 
main  body  at  Cambridge,  as  his  military  stores  were  de 
posited  there,  and  it  might  have  to  sustain  the  principal 
attack.  At  length,  having  taken  advice  of  the  council  of 
safety,  he  issued  orders  for  Colonels  Stark  and  Bead, 
then  at  Medford,  to  march  to  the  relief  of  Prescott  with 
their  New  Hampshire  regiments.  The  orders  reached 
Medford  about  11  o'clock.  Ammunition  was  distributed 
in  all  haste  ;  two  flints,  a  gill  of  powder,  and  fifteen  balls 

537 


538  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

to  each  man.  The  balls  had  to  be  suited  to  the  different 
calibres  of  the  guns ;  the  powder  to  be  carried  in  powder- 
horns,  or  loose  in  the  pocket,  for  there  were  no  car 
tridges  prepared.  It  was  the  rude  turn  out  of  yeoman 
soldiery  destitute  of  regular  accoutrements. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  Americans  on  Breed's  Hill  were 
sustaining  the  fire  from  the  ships,  and  from  the  battery 
on  Copp's  Hill,  which  opened  upon  them  about  ten 
o'clock.  They  returned  an  occasional  shot  from  one 
corner  of  the  redoubt,  without  much  harm  to  the  enemy, 
and  continued  strengthening  their  position  until  about 
11  o'clock,  when  they  ceased  to  work,  piled  their  in 
trenching  tools  in  the  rear,  and  looked  out  anxiously  and 
impatiently  for  the  anticipated  reinforcements  and  sup 
plies. 

About  this  time  General  Putnam,  who  had  been  to 
head  -  quarters,  arrived  at  the  redoubt  on  horseback. 
Some  words  passed  between  him  and  Prescott  with  re 
gard  to  the  intrenching  tools,  which  have  been  variously 
reported.  The  most  probable  version  is,  that  he  urged 
to  have  them  taken  from  their  present  place,  where  they 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  carried  to 
Bunker's  Hill,  to  be  employed  in  throwing  up  a  redoubt, 
which  was  part  of  the  original  plan,  and  which  would  be 
very  important  should  the  troops  be  obliged  to  retreat 
from  Breed's  Hill.  To  this  Prescott  demurred  that  those 
employed  to  convey  them,  and  who  were  already  jaded 
with  toil,  might  not  return  to  his  redoubt.  A  large  part 


HOWE'S  FORMIDABLE  DISPLAY.  539 

of  the  tools  were  ultimately  carried  to  Bunker's  Hill,  and 
a  breastwork  commenced  by  order  of  General  Putnam. 
The  importance  of  such  a  work  was  afterwards  made 
apparent. 

About  noon  the  Americans  descried  twenty -eight 
barges  crossing  from  Boston  in  parallel  lines.  They 
contained  a  large  detachment  of  grenadiers,  rangers,  and 
light  infantry,  admirably  equipped,  and  commanded  by 
Major-general  Howe.  They  made  a  splendid  and  formi 
dable  appearance  with  their  scarlet  uniforms,  and  the 
sun  flashing  upon  muskets  and  bayonets,  and  brass  field- 
pieces.  A  heavy  fire  from  the  ships  and  batteries  cov 
ered  their  advance,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  oppose 
them,  and  they  landed  about  1  o'clock  at  Moulton's  Point, 
a  little  to  the  north  of  Breed's  Hill. 

Here  General  Howe  made  a  pause.  On  reconnoiter- 
ing  the  works  from  this  point,  the  Americans  appeared 
to  be  much  more  strongly  posted  than  he  had  imagined. 
He  descried  troops  also  hastening  to  their  assistance. 
These  were  the  New  Hampshire  troops,  led  on  by  Stark. 
Howe  immediately  sent  over  to  General  Gage  for  more 
forces,  and  a  supply  of  cannon-balls;  those  brought  by 
him  being  found,  through  some  egregious  oversight,  too 
large  for  the  ordnance.  While  awaiting  their  arrival, 
refreshments  were  served  out  to  the  troops,  with  "  grog  " 
by  the  bucketful ;  and  tantalizing  it  was,  to  the  hungry 
and  thirsty  provincials,  to  look  down  from  their  ramparts 
of  earth,  and  see  their  invaders  seated  in  groups  upon 


540  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

the  grass  eating  and  drinking,  and  preparing  themselves 
by  a  hearty  meal  for  the  coming  encounter.  Their  only 
consolation  was  to  take  advantage  of  the  delay,  while  the 
enemy  were  carousing,  to  strengthen  their  position.  The 
breastwork  on  the  left  of  the  redoubt  extended  to  what 
was  called  the  Slough,  but  beyond  this,  the  ridge  of  the 
hill,  and  the  slope  toward  Mystic  Biver,  were  unde 
fended,  leaving  a  pass  by  which  the  enemy  might  turn 
the  left  flank  of  the  position  and  seize  upon  Bunker's 
Hill.  Putnam  ordered  his  chosen  officer,  Captain  Knowl- 
ton,  to  cover  this  pass  with  the  Connecticut  troops  under 
his  command.  A  novel  kind  of  rampart,  savoring  of  rural 
device,  was  suggested  by  the  rustic  general.  About  six 
hundred  feet  in  the  rear  of  the  redoubt,  and  about  one 
hundred  feet  to  the  left  of  the  breastwork,  was  a  post- 
and-rail  fence,  set  in  a  low  foot-wall  of  stone,  and  ex 
tending  down  to  Mystic  River.  The  posts  and  rails  of 
another  fence  were  hastily  pulled  up,  and  set  a  few  feet 
in  behind  this,  and  the  intermediate  space  was  filled  up 
with  new-mown  hay  from  the  adjacent  meadows.  This 
double  fence,  it  will  be  found,  proved  an  important  pro 
tection  to  the  redoubt,  although  there  still  remained  an 
unprotected  interval  of  about  seven  hundred  feet. 

While  Knowlton  and  his  men  were  putting  up  this 
fence,  Putnam  proceeded  with  other  of  his  troops  to 
throw  up  the  work  on  Bunker's  Hill,  despatching  his  son, 
Captain  Putnam,  on  horseback,  to  hurry  up  the  remain 
der  of  his  men  from  Cambridge.  By  this  time  his  com- 


THE   VETERAN  STARE'S  BAND.  541 

peer  in  French  and  Indian  warfare,  the  veteran  Stark, 
made  his  appearance  with  the  New  Hampshire  troops, 
five  hundred  strong.  He  had  grown  cool  and  wary  with 
age,  and  his  march  from  Medford,  a  distance  of  five  or 
six  miles,  had  been  in  character.  He  led  his  men  at  a 
moderate  pace,  to  bring  them  into  action  fresh  and 
vigorous.  In  crossing  the  Neck,  which  was  enfiladed  by 
the  enemy's  ships  and  batteries,  Captain  Dearborn,  who 
was  by  his  side,  suggested  a  quick  step.  The  veteran 
shook  his  head :  "  One  fresh  man  in  action  is  worth  ten 
tired  ones,"  replied  he,  and  marched  steadily  on. 

Putnam  detained  some  of  Stark's  men  to  aid  in  throw 
ing  up  the  work  on  Bunker's  Hill,  and  directed  him  to 
reinforce  Knowlton  with  the  rest.  Stark  made  a  short 
speech  to  his  men,  now  that  they  were  likely  to  have 
warm  work.  He  then  pushed  on,  and  did  good  service 
that  day  at  the  rustic  bulwark. 

About  two  o'clock  Warren  arrived  on  the  heights, 
ready  to  engage  in  their  perilous  defense,  although  he 
had  opposed  the  scheme  of  their  occupation.  He  had 
recently  been  elected  a  major-general,  but  had  not  re 
ceived  his  commission ;  like  Pomeroy,  he  came  to  serve 
in  the  ranks  with  a  musket  on  his  shoulder.  Putnam 
offered  him  the  command  at  the  fence;  he  declined  it, 
and  merely  asked  where  he  could  be  of  most  service  as 
a  volunteer.  Putnam  pointed  to  the  redoubt,  observing 
that  there  he  would  be  under  cover.  "Don't  think  I 
seek  a  place  of  safety,"  replied  Wfirreix,.  quickly  :  "  where 


542  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

will  the  attack  be  hottest  ?  "  Putnam  still  pointed  to  the 
redoubt.  "  That  is  the  enemy's  object ;  if  that  can  be 
maintained,  the  day  is  ours." 

Warren  was  cheered  by  the  troops  as  he  entered  the 
redoubt.  Colonel  Prescott  tendered  him  the  command, 
He  again  declined.  "I  have  come  to  serve  only  as  a 
volunteer,  and  shall  be  happy  to  learn  from  a  soldier  of 
your  experience."  Such  were  the  noble  spirits  assem 
bled  on  these  perilous  heights. 

The  British  now  prepared  for  a  general  assault.  An 
easy  victory  was  anticipated  ;  the  main  thought  was,  how 
to  make  it  most  effectual.  The  left  wing,  commanded  by 
General  Pigot,  was  to  mount  the  hill  and  force  the  re 
doubt  ;  while  General  Howe,  with  the  right  wing,  was  to 
push  on  between  the  fort  and  Mystic  Biver,  turn  the  left 
flank  of  the  Americans,  and  cut  off  their  retreat. 

General  Pigot,  accordingly,  advanced  up  the  hill  under 
cover  of  a  fire  from  field-pieces  and  howitzers  planted  on 
a  small  height  near  the  landing-place  on  Moulton's 
Point.  His  troops  commenced  a  discharge  of  musketry 
while  yet  at  a  long  distance  from  the  redoubts.  The 
Americans  within  the  works,  obedient  to  strict  command, 
retained  their  fire  until  the  enemy  were  within  thirty  or 
forty  paces,  when  they  opened  upon  them  with  a  tremen 
dous  volley.  Being  all  marksmen,  accustomed  to  take 
deliberate  aim,  the  slaughter  was  immense,  and  espe 
cially  fatal  to  officers.  The  assailants  fell  back  in  some 
confusion;  but,  rallied  on  by  their  officers,  advanced 


GREAT  SLAUGHTER.  543 

within  pistol  shot.  Another  volley,  more  effective  than 
the  first,  made  them  again  recoil.  To  add  to  theii  con 
fusion,  they  were  galled  by  a  flanking  fire  from  the  hand 
ful  of  provincials  posted  in  Charlestown.  Shocked  at 
the  carnage,  and  seeing  the  confusion  of  his  troops,  Gen 
eral  Pigot  was  urged  to  give  the  word  for  a  retreat. 

In  the  meantime,  General  Howe,  with  the  right  wing, 
advanced  along  Mystic  Eiver  toward  the  fence  where 
Stark,  Bead,  and  Knowlton  were  stationed,  thinking  to 
carry  this  slight  breastwork  with  ease,  and  so  get  in  the 
rear  of  the  fortress.  His  artillery  proved  of  little  avail, 
being  stopped  by  a  swampy  piece  of  ground,  while  his 
columns  suffered  from  two  or  three  field -pieces  with 
which  Putnam  had  fortified  the  fence.  Howe's  men  kept 
up  a  fire  of  musketry  as  they  advanced ;  but,  not  tak 
ing  aim,  their  shot  passed  over  the  heads  of  the  Ameri 
cans.  The  latter  had  received  the  same  orders  with 
those  in  the  redoubt,  not  to  fire  until  the  enemy  should 
be  within  thirty  paces.  Some  few  transgressed  the  com 
mand.  Putnam  rode  up  and  swore  he  would  cut  down 
the  next  man  that  fired  contrary  to  orders.  When  the 
British  arrived  within  the  stated  distance  a  sheeted  fire 
opened  upon  them  from  rifles,  muskets,  and  fowling- 
pieces,  all  leveled  with  deadly  aim.  The  carnage,  as  in 
the  other  instance,  was  horrible.  The  British  were 
thrown  into  confusion  and  fell  back ;  some  even  retreated 
to  the  boats. 

There  was  a  general  pause  on  the  part  of  the  British 


544  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  American  officers  availed  themselves  of  it  to  prepare 
for  another  attack,  which  must  soon  be  made.  Prescott 
mingled  among  his  men  in  the  redoubt,  who  were  all  in 
high  spirits  at  the  severe  check  they  had  given  "the 
regulars."  He  praised  them  for  their  steadfastness  in 
maintaining  their  post,  and  their  good  conduct  in  reserv 
ing  their  fire  until  the  word  of  command,  and  exhorted 
them  to  do  the  same  in  the  next  attack. 

Putnam  rode  about  Bunker's  Hill  and  its  skirts,  to 
rally  and  bring  on  reinforcements  which  had  been 
checked  or  scattered  in  crossing  Charlestown  Neck  by 
the  raking  fire  from  the  ships  and  batteries.  Before 
many  could  be  brought  to  the  scene  of  action  the  Brit 
ish  had  commenced  their  second  attack.  They  again  as 
cended  the  hill  to  storm  the  redoubt ;  their  advance  was 
covered  as  before  by  discharges  of  artillery.  Charles- 
towD,  which  had  annoyed  them  on  their  first  attack  by  a 
flanking  fire,  was  in  flames,  by  shells  thrown  from  Copp's 
Hill,  and  by  marines  from  the  ships.  Being  built  of 
wood,  the  place  was  soon  wrapped  in  a  general  confla 
gration.  The  thunder  of  artillery  from  batteries  and 
ships,  the  bursting  of  bomb-shells,  the  sharp  discharges 
of  musketry ;  the  shouts  and  yells  of  the  combatants ; 
the  crash  of  burning  buildings,  and  the  dense  volumes 
of  smoke,  which  obscured  the  summer  sun,  all  formed  a 
tremendous  spectacle.  "  Sure  I  am,"  said  Burgoyne  in 
one  of  his  letters, — "  Sure  I  am  nothing  ever  has  or  ever 
can  be  more  dreadfully  terrible  than  what  was  to  be  seen 


RETREAT  OF  THE  BRITISH.  545 

or  heard  at  this  time.  The  most  incessant  discharge  of 
guns  that  ever  was  heard  by  mortal  ears." 

The  American  troops,  although  unused  to  war,  stood 
undismayed  amidst  a  scene  where  it  was  bursting  upon 
them  with  all  its  horrors.  Reserving  their  fire,  as  before, 
until  the  enemy  was  close  at  hand,  they  again  poured 
forth  repeated  volleys  with  the  fatal  aim  of  sharp 
shooters.  The  British  stood  the  first  shock,  and  con 
tinued  to  advance  ;  but  the  incessant  stream  of  fire  stag 
gered  them.  Their  officers  remonstrated,  threatened,  and 
even  attempted  to  goad  them  on  with  their  swords,  but 
the  havoc  was  too  deadly;  whole  ranks  were  mowed 
down ;  many  of  the  officers  were  either  slain  or  wounded, 
and  among  them  several  of  the  staff  of  General  Howe. 
The  troops  again  gave  way  and  retreated  down  the  hill. 

All  this  passed  under  the  eye  of  thousands  of  specta 
tors  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  watching  from  afar  every 
turn  of  a  battle  in  which  the  lives  of  those  most  dear  to 
them  were  at  hazard.  The  British  soldiery  in  Boston 
gazed  with  astonishment  and  almost  incredulity  at  the 
resolute  and  protracted  stand  of  raw  militia  whom  they 
had  been  taught  to  despise,  and  at  the  havoc  made 
among  their  own  veteran  troops.  Every  convoy  of 
wounded  brought  over  to  the  town  increased  their  con^ 
sternation;  and  General  Clinton,  who  had  watched  the 
action  from  Copp's  Hill,  embarking  in  a  boat,  hurried 
over  as  a  volunteer,  taking  with  him  reinforcements. 

A  third  attack  was  now  determined  on,  though  some 
VOL.  i.— 35 


546  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

of  Howe's  officers  remonstrated,  declaring  it  would  be 
downright  butchery.  A  different  plan  was  adopted.  In 
stead  of  advancing  in  front  of  the  redoubt,  it  was  to  be 
taken  in  flank  on  the  left,  where  the  open  space  between 
the  breastwork  and  the  fortified  fence  presented  a  weak 
point.  It  having  been  accidentally  discovered  that  the 
ammunition  of  the  Americans  was  nearly  expended,  prep 
arations  were  made  to  carry  the  works  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet ;  and  the  soldiery  threw  off  their  knapsacks, 
and  some  even  their  coats,  to  be  more  light  for  action. 

General  Howe,  with  the  main  body,  now  made  a  feint 
of  attacking  the  fortified  fence ;  but,  while  a  part  of  his 
force  was  thus  engaged,  the  rest  brought  some  of  the 
field-pieces  to  enfilade  the  breastwork  on  the  left  of  the 
redoubt.  A  raking  fire  soon  drove  the  Americans  out 
of  this  exposed  place  into  the  inclosure.  Much  damage, 
too,  was  done  in  the  latter  by  balls  which  entered  the 
sally-port. 

The  troops  were  now  led  on  to  assail  the  works ;  those 
who  flinched  were,  as  before,  goaded  on  by  the  swords 
of  the  officers.  The  Americans  again  reserved  their  fire 
until  their  assailants  were  close  at  hand,  and  then  made 
a  murderous  volley,  by  which  several  officers  were  laid 
low,  and  General  Howe  himself  was  wounded  in  the  foot. 
The  British  soldiery  this  time  likewise  reserved  their 
fire  and  rushed  on  with  fixed  bayonet.  Clinton  and  Pigot 
had  reached  the  southern  and  eastern  sides  of  the  re 
doubt,  and  it  was  now  assailed  on  three  sides  at  once, 


DEATH  OF  WARREN.  547 

Prescott  ordered  those  who  had  no  bayonets  to  retire  to 
the  back  part  of  the  redoubt  and  fire  on  the  enemy  as 
they  showed  themselves  above  the  parapet.  The  first 
who  mounted  exclaimed  in  triumph,  "  The  day  is  ours !  " 
He  was  instantly  shot  down,  and  so  were  several  others 
who  mounted  at  the  same  time.  The  Americans,  how 
ever,  had  fired  their  last  round,  their  ammunition  was 
exhausted;  and  now  succeeded  a  desperate  and  deadly 
struggle,  hand  to  hand,  with  bayonets,  stones,  and  the 
stocks  of  their  muskets.  At  length,  as  the  British  con 
tinued  to  pour  in,  Prescott  gave  the  order  to  retreat. 
His  men  had  to  cut  their  way  through  two  divisions  of 
the  enemy  who  were  getting  in  rear  of  the  redoubt,  and 
they  received  a  destructive  volley  from  those  who  had 
formed  on  the  captured  works.  By  that  volley  fell  the 
patriot  Warren,  who  had  distinguished  himself  through 
out  the  action.  He  was  among  the  last  to  leave  the 
redoubt,  and  had  scarce  done  so  when  he  was  shot 
through  the  head  with  a  musket-ball,  and  fell  dead  on 
the  spot. 

While  the  Americans  were  thus  slowly  dislodged  from 
the  redoubt,  Stark,  Read,  and  Knowlton  maintained 
their  ground  at  the  fortified  fence ;  which,  indeed,  had 
been  nobly  defended  throughout  the  action.  Pomeroy 
distinguished  himself  here  by  his  sharpshooting  until 
his  musket  was  shattered  by  a  ball.  The  resistance  at 
this  hastily  constructed  work  was  kept  up  after  the 
troops  in  the  redoubt  had  given  way,  and  until  Colonel 


548  LIFE  OP  WASHINGTON. 

Prescott  had  left  the  hill ;  thus  defeating  General 
Howe's  design  of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  the  main 
body,  which  would  have  produced  a  scene  of  direful 
confusion  and  slaughter.  Having  effected  their  purpose, 
the  brave  associates  at  the  fence  abandoned  their  weak 
outpost,  retiring  slowly,  and  disputing  the  ground  inch 
by  inch,  with  a  regularity  remarkable  in  troops  many  of 
whom  had  never  before  been  in  action. 

The  main  retreat  was  across  Bunker's  Hill,  where  Put 
nam  had  endeavored  to  throw  up  a  breastwork.  The 
veteran,  sword  in  hand,  rode  to  the  rear  of  the  retreating 
troops,  regardless  of  the  balls  whistling  about  him.  His 
only  thought  was  to  rally  them  at  the  unfinished  works. 
"Halt!  make  a  stand  here!"  cried  he,  "we  can  check 
them  yet.  In  God's  name  form  and  give  them  one  shot 
more." 

Pomeroy,  wielding  his  shattered  musket  as  a  trun 
cheon,  seconded  him  in  his  efforts  to  stay  the  torrent. 
It  was  impossible,  however,  to  bring  the  troops  to  a 
stand.  They  continued  on  down  the  hill  to  the  Neck,  and 
across  it  to  Cambridge,  exposed  to  a  raking  fire  from  the 
ships  and  batteries,  and  only  protected  by  a  single  piece 
of  ordnance.  The  British  were  too  exhausted  to  pursue 
them ;  they  contented  themselves  with  taking  possession 
of  Bunker's  Hill,  were  reinforced  from  Boston,  and  threw 
up  additional  works  during  the  night. 

We  have  collected  the  preceding  facts  from  various 
sources,  examining  them  carefully,  and  endeavoring  to 


TRIUMPH  IN  DEFEAT.  549 

arrange  them  with  scrupulous  fidelity.  We  may  appear 
to  have  been  more  minute  in  the  account  of  the  battle 
than  the  number  of  troops  engaged  would  warrant ;  but 
it  was  one  of  the  most  momentous  conflicts  in  our  Bevo- 
lutionary  history.  It  was  the  first  regular  battle  between 
the  British  and  the  Americans,  and  most  eventful  in  its 
consequences.  The  former  had  gained  the  ground  for 
which  they  contended ;  but,  if  a  victory,  it  was  more  dis 
astrous  and  humiliating  to  them  than  an  ordinary  defeat. 
They  had  ridiculed  and  despised  their  enemy,  represent 
ing  them  as  dastardly  and  inefficient ;  yet  here  their  best 
troops,  led  on  by  experienced  officers,  had  repeatedly 
been  repulsed,  by  an  inferior  force  of  that  enemy, — mere 
yeomanry, — from  works  thrown  up  in  a  single  night,  and 
had  suffered  a  loss  rarely  paralleled  in  battle  with  the 
most  veteran  soldiery;  for,  according  to  their  own  re 
turns,  their  killed  and  wounded,  out  of  a  detachment 
of  two  thousand  men,  amounted  to  one  thousand  and 
fifty-four,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  officers.  The 
loss  of  the  Americans  did  not  exceed  four  hundred  and 
fifty. 

To  the  latter  this  defeat,  if  defeat  it  might  be  called, 
had  the  effect  of  a  triumph.  It  gave  them  confidence  in 
themselves  and  consequence  in  the  eyes  of  their  enemies. 
They  had  proved  to  themselves  and  to  others  that  they 
could  measure  weapons  with  the  disciplined  soldiers  of 
Europe,  and  inflict  the  most  harm  in  the  conflict. 

Among  the  British  officers  slain  was  Major  Pitcairn, 


550  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

who,  at  Lexington,  had  shed  the  first  blood  in  the  Revo 
lutionary  war. 

In  the  death  of  Warren  the  Americans  had  to  lament 
the  loss  of  a  distinguished  patriot  and  a  most  estimable 
man.  It  was  deplored  as  a  public  calamity.  His  friend 
Elbridge  Gerry  had  endeavored  to  dissuade  him  from 
risking  his  life  in  this  perilous  conflict.  "  Dulce  et  deco 
rum  est  pro  patria  mori,"  replied  Warren,  as  if  he  had 
foreseen  his  fate — a  fate  to  be  envied  by  those  ambitious 
of  an  honorable  fame.  He  was  one  of  the  first  who  fell 
in  the  glorious  cause  of  his  country,  and  his  name  has 
become  consecrated  in  its  history. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  of  the  relative  merits 
of  the  American  officers  engaged  in  this  affair — a  difficult 
question  where  no  one  appears  to  have  had  the  general 
command.  Prescott  conducted  the  troops  in  the  night 
enterprise ;  he  superintended  the  building  of  the  redoubt, 
and  defended  it  throughout  the  battle  :  his  name,  there 
fore,  will  ever  shine  most  conspicuous,  and  deservedly  so, 
on  this  bright  page  of  our  Revolutionary  history. 

Putnam  was  also  a  leading  spirit  throughout  the  affair ; 
one  of  the  first  to  prompt  and  of  the  last  to  maintain  it 
He  appears  to  have  been  active  and  efficient  at  every 
point ;  sometimes  fortifying ;  sometimes  hurrying  up  re 
inforcements  ;  inspiriting  the  men  by  his  presence  while 
they  were  able  to  maintain  their  ground,  and  fighting 
gallantly  at  the  outpost  to  cover  their  retreat.  The 
brave  old  man,  riding  about  in  the  heat  of  the  action,  oil 


GENERAL  PUTNAM.  551 

this  sultry  day,  "  with  a  hanger  belted  across  his  brawny 
shoulders,  over  a  waistcoat  without  sleeves,"  has  been 
sneered  at  by  a  contemporary,  as  "  much  fitter  to  head  a 
band  of  sickle  men  or  ditchers  than  musketeers."  But 
this  very  description  illustrates  his  character,  and  iden 
tifies  him  with  the  times  and  the  service.  A  yeoman 
warrior  fresh  from  the  plough,  in  the  garb  of  rural  labor ; 
a  patriot  brave  and  generous,  but  rough  and  ready,  who 
thought  not  of  himself  in  time  of  danger,  but  was  ready 
to  serve  in  any  way,  and  to  sacrifice  oificial  rank  and  self- 
glorification  to  the  good  of  the  cause.  He  was  eminently 
a  soldier  for  the  occasion.  His  name  has  long  been  a 
favorite  one  with  young  and  old,  one  of  the  talismanic 
names  of  the  Revolution,  the  very  mention  of  which  is 
like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet.  Such  names  are  the  pre 
cious  jewels  of  our  history,  to  be  garnered  up  among  the 
treasures  of  the  nation,  and  kept  immaculate  from  the 
Garnishing  breath  of  the  cynic  and  the  doubter. 

NOTE. — In  treating  of  tne  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  and  of  other  occur- 
^ences  about  Boston  at  this  period  of  the  Revolution  we  have  had  repeated 
occasion  to  consult  the  History  of  the  Siege  of  Boston,  by  Richard  Froth- 
tagham,  Jr.  ;  a  work  abounding  with  facts  as  to  persons  and  events,  and 
full  of  interest  for  the  American  reader. 


CHAPTEK  XLH 

DEPARTURE  FROM  PHILADELPHIA. — ANECDOTES  OP  GENERAL  SCHUTLER. — o* 

LEE. — TIDINGS  OF  BUNKER'S  HILL. — MILITARY  COUNCILS. — POPULATION  OP 
NEW  YORK. — THE  JOHNSON  FAMILY. — GOVERNOR  TRYON. — ARRIVAL  AT  NEW 
YORK.— MILITARY  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SCHUYLER.— ARRIVAL  AT  THE  CAMP. 


N  a  preceding  chapter  we  left  Washington  pre 
paring  to  depart  from  Philadelphia  for  the 
army  before  Boston.  He  set  out  on  horseback 
on  the  21st  of  June,  having  for  military  companions  of 
his  journey  Major-generals  Lee  and  Schuyler,  and  being 
accompanied  for  a  distance  by  several  private  friends. 
As  an  escort  he  had  a  "  gentleman  troop  "  of  Philadel 
phia,  commanded  by  Captain  Markoe ;  the  whole  formed 
a  brilliant  cavalcade. 

General  Schuyler  was  a  man  eminently  calculated  to 
sympathize  with  Washington  in  all  his  patriotic  views 
and  feelings,  and  became  one  of  his  most  faithful  coad 
jutors.  Sprung  from  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  re 
spectable  Dutch  families  which  colonized  New  York,  all 
his  interests  and  affections  were  identified  with  the 
country.  He  had  received  a  good  education;  applied 
himself  at  an  early  age  to  the  exact  sciences,  and  became 
versed  in  finance,  military  engineering,  and  political 


GENERAL  SGHUYLER.  553 

economy.  He  was  one  of  those  native-born  soldiers  who 
had  acquired  experience  in  that  American  school  of  arms, 
the  old  French  war.  When  but  twenty- two  years  of  age 
he  commanded  a  company  of  New  York  levies  under  Sir 
William  Johnson,  of  Mohawk  renown,  which  gave  him  an 
early  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  Indian 
tribes,  their  country,  and  their  policy.  In  1758  he  was 
in  Abercrombie's  expedition  against  Ticonderoga,  accom 
panying  Lord  Yiscount  Howe  as  chief  of  the  commissa 
riat  department ;  a  post  well  qualified  to  give  him  expe 
rience  in  the  business  part  of  war.  When  that  gallant 
young  nobleman  fell  on  the  banks  of  Lake  George,  Schuy- 
ler  conveyed  his  corpse  back  to  Albany  and  attended  to 
his  honorable  obsequies.  Since  the  close  of  the  French 
war  he  had  served  his  country  in  various  civil  stations, 
and  been  one  of  the  zealous  and  eloquent  vindicators  of 
colonial  rights.  He  was  one  of  the  "  glorious  minority  " 
of  the  New  York  General  Assembly, — George  Clinton, 
Colonel  Woodhull,  Colonel  Philip  Livingston  and  others, 
— who,  when  that  body  was  timid  and  wavering,  battled 
nobly  against  British  influence  and  oppression.  His  last 
stand  had  been  recently  as  a  delegate  to  Congress,  where 
he  had  served  with  Washington  on  the  committee  to  pre 
pare  rules  and  regulations  for  the  army,  and  where  the 
latter  had  witnessed  his  judgment,  activity,  practical 
science,  and  sincere  devotion  to  the  cause. 

Many  things  concurred  to  produce  perfect  harmony  of 
operation  between  these  distinguished  men.     They  were 


554  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

nearly  of  the  same  age,  Schuyler  being  one  year  the 
youngest.  Both  were  men  of  agricultural  as  well  as  mil 
itary  tastes.  Both  were  men  of  property,  living  at  their 
ease  in  little  rural  paradises, — Washington  on  the  grove- 
clad  heights  of  Mount  Vernon,  Schuyler  on  the  pastoral 
banks  of  the  upper  Hudson,  where  he  had  a  noble  estate 
at  Saratoga,  inherited  from  an  uncle,  and  the  old  family 
mansion,  near  the  city  of  Albany,  half  hid  among  ances 
tral  trees.  Yet  both  were  exiling  themselves  from  these 
happy  abodes,  and  putting  life  and  fortune  at  hazard  in 
the  service  of  their  country. 

Schuyler  and  Lee  had  early  military  recollections  to 
draw  them  together.  Both  had  served  under  Abercrom- 
bie  in  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga.  There  was 
some  part  of  Lee's  conduct  in  that  expedition  which  both 
he  and  Schuyler  might  deem  it  expedient  at  this  moment 
to  forget.  Lee  was  at  that  time  a  young  captain,  natur 
ally  presumptuous,  and  flushed  with  the  arrogance  of 
military  power.  On  his  march  along  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson,  he  acted  as  if  in  a  conquered  country,  impress 
ing  horses  and  oxen,  and  seizing  upon  supplies,  without 
exhibiting  any  proper  warrant.  It  was  enough  for  him 
"they  were  necessary  for  the  service  of  his  troops." 
Should  any  one  question  his  right,  the  reply  was  a  volley 
of  execrations. 

Among  those  who  experienced  this  unsoldierly  treat 
ment  was  Mrs.  Schuyler,  the  aunt  of  the  general,  a  lady 
of  aristocratical  station,  revered  throughout  her  neigh- 


MRS.  SCHUYLER' 8  REVENGE.  555 

borhood.  Her  cattle  were  impressed,  herself  insulted. 
She  had  her  revenge.  After  the  unfortunate  affair  at 
Ticonderoga,  a  number  of  the  wounded  were  brought 
down  along  the  Hudson  to  the  Schuyler  mansion.  Lee 
was  among  the  number.  The  high-minded  mistress  of 
ihe  house  never  alluded  to  his  past  conduct.  He  was 
received,  like  his  brother  officers,  with  the  kindest  sym 
pathy.  Sheets  and  table-cloths  were  torn  up  to  serve  as 
bandages.  Everything  was  done  to  alleviate  their  suffer 
ings.  Lee's  cynic  heart  was  conquered.  "He  swore  in 
his  vehement  manner  that  he  was  sure  there  would  be  a 
place  reserved  for  Mrs.  Schuyler  in  heaven,  though  no 
other  woman  should  be  there,  and  that  he  should  wish 
for  nothing  better  than  to  share  her  final  destiny ! "  * 

Seventeen  years  had  since  elapsed,  and  Lee  and  the 
nephew  of  Mrs.  Schuyler  were  again  allied  in  military 
service,  but  under  a  different  banner  ;  and  recollections 
of  past  times  must  have  given  peculiar  interest  to  their 
present  intercourse.  In  fact,  the  journey  of  Washington 
with  his  associate  generals,  experienced  like  him  in  the 
wild  expeditions  of  the  old  French  war,  was  a  revival  of 
early  campaigning  feelings. 

They  had  scarcely  proceeded  twenty  miles  from  Phila 
delphia  when  they  were  met  by  a  courier,  spurring  with 
all  speed,  bearing  despatches  from  the  army  to  Congress, 
communicating  tidings  of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill. 

*  Memoirs  of  an  American  Lady  (Mrs.  Grant,  of  Laggan),  vol.  it 
chapter  ix. 


556  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Washington  eagerly  inquired  particulars ;  above  all,  ho\v 
acted  the  militia?  When  told  that  they  stood  their 
ground  bravely ;  sustained  the  enemy's  fire ;  reserved 
their  own  until  at  close  quarters,  and  then  delivered  it 
with  deadly  effect ;  it  seemed  as  if  a  weight  of  doubt  and 
solicitude  were  lifted  from  his  heart.  "The  liberties  of 
the  country  are  safe !  "  exclaimed  he. 

The  news  of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill  had  startled 
the  whole  country ;  and  this  clattering  cavalcade  escort 
ing  the  commander-in-chief  to  the  army,  was  the  gaze 
and  wonder  of  every  town  and  village. 

The  journey  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  continual 
council  of  war  between  Washington  and  the  two  generals. 
Even  the  contrast  in  character  of  the  two  latter  made 
them  regard  questions  from  different  points  of  view. 
Schuyler,  a  warm-hearted  patriot,  with  everything  staked 
on  the  cause ;  Lee,  a  soldier  of  fortune,  indifferent  to 
the  ties  of  home  and  country,  drawing  his  sword  without 
enthusiasm  ;  more  through  resentment  against  a  govern 
ment  which  had  disappointed  him  than  zeal  for  liberty 
or  for  colonial  rights. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  subjects  of  conversation  was 
the  province  of  New  York.  Its  power  and  position  ren 
dered  it  the  great  link  of  the  confederacy ;  what  meas 
ures  were  necessary  for  its  defense,  and  most  calculated 
to  secure  its  adherence  to  the  cause?  A  lingering  at 
tachment  to  the  crown,  kept  up  by  the  influence  of  British 
merchants,  and  military  and  civil  functionaries  in  royal 


NEW  YORKERS.  557 

pay,  had  rendered  it  slow  in  coming  into  the  colonial 
Compact ;  and  it  was  only  on  the  contemptuous  dismissal 
of  their  statement  of  grievances,  unheard,  that  its  people 
had  thrown  off  their  allegiance,  as  much  in  sorrow  as  in 
anger. 

No  person  was  better  fitted  to  give  an  account  of  the 
interior  of  New  York  than  General  Schuyler;  and  the 
hawk-eyed  Lee  during  a  recent  sojourn  had  made  its 
capital  somewhat  of  a  study;  but  there  was  much  yet 
for  both  of  them  to  learn. 

The  population  of  New  York  was  more  varied  in  its 
elements  than  that  of  almost  any  other  of  the  provinces, 
and  had  to  be  cautiously  studied.  The  New  Yorkers 
were  of  a  mixed  origin,  and  stamped  with  the  peculiari 
ties  of  their  respective  ancestors.  The  descendants  of 
the  old  Dutch  and  Huguenot  families,  the  earliest  set 
tlers,  were  still  among  the  soundest  and  best  of  the 
population.  They  inherited  the  love  of  liberty,  civil  and 
religious,  of  their  forefathers,  and  were  those  who  stood 
foremost  in  the  present  struggle  for  popular  rights.  Such 
were  the  Jays,  the  Bensons,  the  Beekmans,  the  Hoff- 
mans,  the  Van  Homes,  the  Eoosevelts,  the  Duyckinks, 
the  Pintards,  the  Yateses,  and  others  whose  names  figure 
in  the  patriotic  documents  of  the  day.  Some  of  them, 
doubtless,  cherished  a  remembrance  of  the  time  when 
their  forefathers  were  lords  of  the  land,  and  felt  an 
innate  propensity  to  join  in  resistance  to  the  government 
by  which  their  supremacy  had  been  overturned.  A  great 


558  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

proportion  of  the  more  modern  families,  dating  from  tha 
downfall  of  the  Dutch  government  in  1664,  were  English 
and  Scotch,  and  among  these  were  many  loyal  adherents 
to  the  crown.  Then  there  was  a  mixture  of  the  whole, 
produced  by  the  intermarriages  of  upwards  of  a  century, 
which  partook  of  every  shade  of  character  and  sentiment 
The  operations  of  foreign  commerce  and  the  regular 
communications  with  the  mother  country  through  pack 
ets  and  ships  of  war,  kept  these  elements  in  constant 
action,  and  contributed  to  produce  that  mercurial  tem 
perament,  that  fondness  for  excitement,  and  proneness  to 
pleasure,  which  distinguished  them  from  their  neighbors 
on  either  side — the  austere  Puritans  of  New  England, 
and  the  quiet  "  Friends  "  of  Pennsylvania. 

There  was  a  power,  too,  of  a  formidable  kind  within 
the  interior  of  the  province,  which  was  an  object  of  much 
solicitude.  This  was  the  "Johnson  Family."  We  have 
repeatedly  had  occasion  to  speak  of  Sir  William  John 
son,  His  Majesty's  general  agent  for  Indian  affairs :  of 
his  great  wealth,  and  his  almost  sovereign  sway  over  the 
Six  Nations.  He  had  originally  received  that  appoint 
ment  through  the  influence  of  the  Schuyler  family.  Both 
Generals  Schuyler  and  Lee,  when  young  men,  had  cam 
paigned  with  him ;  and  it  was  among  the  Mohawk  war 
riors,  who  rallied  under  his  standard,  that  Lee  had  be 
held  his  vaunted  models  of  good  breeding. 

In  the  recent  difficulties  between  the  crown  and  colo 
nies,  Sir  William  had  naturally  been  in  favor  of  the 


THE  JOHNSON  FAMILY.  559 

government  which  had  enriched  and  honored  him,  but 
he  had  viewed  with  deep  concern  the  acts  of  Parliament 
which  were  goading  the  colonists  to  armed  resistance. 
In  the  height  of  his  solicitude  he  received  despatches 
ordering  him,  in  case  of  hostilities,  to  enlist  the  Indians 
in  the  cause  of  government.  To  the  agitation  of  feelings 
produced  by  these  orders  many  have  attributed  a  stroke 
of  apoplexy,  of  which  he  died,  on  the  llth  of  July,  1774, 
about  a  year  before  the  time  of  which  we  are  treating. 

His  son  and  heir,  Sir  John  Johnson,  and  his  sons-in- 
law,  Colonel  Guy  Johnson  and  Colonel  Claus,  felt  none 
of  the  reluctance  of  Sir  William  to  use  harsh  measures 
in  support  of  royalty.  They  lived  in  a  degree  of  rude 
feudal  style  in  stone  mansions  capable  of  defense,  situ 
ated  on  the  Mohawk  Biver  and  in  its  vicinity;  they 
had  many  Scottish  Highlanders  for  tenants ;  and  among 
their  adherents  were  violent  men,  such  as  the  Butlers 
of  Tryon  County,  and  Brant,  the  Mohawk  sachem,  since 
famous  in  Indian  warfare. 

They  had  recently  gone  about  with  armed  retainers, 
overawing  and  breaking  up  patriotic  assemblages,  and  it 
was  known  they  could  at  any  time  bring  a  force  of  war 
riors  in  the  field. 

Recent  accounts  stated  that  Sir  John  was  fortifying 
the  old  family  hall  at  Johnstown  with  swivels,  and  had 
a  hundred  and  fifty  Roman  Catholic  Highlanders  quar 
tered  in  and  about  it,  all  armed  and  ready  to  obey  his 
orders. 


560  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  however,  was  the  most  active 
and  zealous  of  the  family.  Pretending  to  apprehend  a 
design  on  the  part  of  the  New  England  people  to  sur 
prise  and  carry  him  off,  he  fortified  his  stone  mansion 
on  the  Mohawk,  called  Guy's  Park,  and  assembled  there 
a  part  of  his  militia  regiment,  and  other  of  his  adherents, 
to  the  number  of  five  hundred.  He  held  a  great  Indian 
council  there,  likewise,  in  which  the  chiefs  of  the  Six 
Nations  recalled  the  friendship  and  good  deeds  of  the 
late  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  avowed  their  determina 
tion  to  stand  by  and  defend  every  branch  of  his  family. 

As  yet  it  was  uncertain  whether  Colonel  Guy  really 
intended  to  take  an  open  part  in  the  appeal  to  arms. 
Should  he  do  so,  he  would  carry  with  him  a  great  force 
of  the  native  tribes,  and  might  almost  domineer  over  the 
frontier. 

Tryon,  the  governor  of  New  York,  was  at  present  ab 
sent  in  England,  having  been  called  home  by  the  minis 
try  to  give  an  account  of  the  affairs  of  the  province,  and 
to  receive  instructions  for  its  management.  He  was  a 
tory  in  heart,  and  had  been  a  zealous  opponent  of  all 
colonial  movements,  and  his  talents  and  address  gave 
him  great  influence  over  an  important  part  of  the  com 
munity.  Should  he  return  with  hostile  instructions,  and 
should  he  and  the  Johnsons  cooperate,  the  one  control 
ling  the  bay  and  harbor  of  New  York  and  the  waters  of 
the  Hudson  by  means  of  ships  and  land  forces ;  the 
others  overrunning  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  and  the 


A  QUANDARY.  661 

regions  beyond  Albany  with  savage  hordes,  this  great 
central  province  might  be  wrested  from  the  confederacy, 
and  all  intercourse  broken  off  between  the  eastern  and 
southern  colonies. 

All  these  circumstances  and  considerations,  many  of 
which  came  under  discussion  in  the  course  of  this  mili 
tary  journey,  rendered  the  command  of  New  York  a  post 
of  especial  trust  and  importance,  and  determined  Wash 
ington  to  confide  it  to  General  Schuyler.  He  was  pecu 
liarly  fitted  for  it  by  his  military  talents,  his  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  province  and  its  concerns,  especially 
what  related  to  the  upper  parts  of  it,  and  his  experience 
in  Indian  affairs. 

At  Newark,  in  the  Jerseys,  Washington  was  met  on 
the  25th  by  a  committee  of  the  provincial  Congress,  sent 
to  conduct  him  to  the  city.  The  Congress  was  in  a  per 
plexity.  It  had  in  a  manner  usurped  and  exercised  the 
powers  of  Governor  Tryon  during  his  absence,  while  at 
the  same  time  it  professed  allegiance  to  the  crown  which 
had  appointed  him.  He  was  now  in  the  harbor,  just 
arrived  from  England,  and  hourly  expected  to  land. 
Washington,  too,  was  approaching.  How  were  these 
double  claims  to  ceremonious  respect,  happening  at  the 
same  time,  to  be  managed  ? 

In  this  dilemma  a  regiment  of  militia  was  turned  out, 

and   the    colonel  instructed  to   pay  military  honors   to 

whichever  of  the  distinguished  functionaries  should  first 

arrive.     Washington  was  earlier  than  the  governor  by 

VOL.  i.— 36 


562  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON-. 

several  hours,  and  received  those  honors.  Peter  Van 
Burgh  Livingston,  president  of  the  New  York  Congress, 
next  delivered  a  congratulatory  address,  the  latter  part 
flf  which  evinces  the  cautious  reserve  with  which,  in 
those  revolutionary  times,  military  power  was  intrusted 
to  an  individual : — 

"Confiding  in  you,  sir,  and  in  the  worthy  generals 
immediately  under  your  command,  we  have  the  most 
flattering  hopes  of  success  in  the  glorious  struggle  for 
American  liberty,  and  the  fullest  assurances  that  whenever 
this  important  contest  shall  be  decided  by  that  fondest  wish  of 
each  American  soul,  an  accommodation  with  our  mother  coun 
try,  you  wiH  cheerfully  resign  the  important  deposit  committed 
into  your  hands,  and  reassume  the  character  of  our  worthiest 
citizen." 

The  following  was  Washington's  reply,  in  behalf  of 
himself  and  his  generals,  to  this  part  of  the  address  : — 

"  As  to  the  fatal,  but  necessary  operations  of  war,  when 
we  assumed  the  soldier,  we  did  not  lay  aside  the  citizen ; 
and  we  shall  most  sincerely  rejoice  with  you  in  that 
happy  hour,  when  the  establishment  of  American  liberty, 
on  the  most  firm  and  solid  foundations,  shall  enable  us 
to  return  to  our  private  stations,  in  the  bosom  of  a  free, 
peaceful,  and  happy  country." 

The  landing  of  Governor  Tryon  took  place  about  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  military  honors  were  re 
peated  ;  he  was  received  with  great  respect  by  the  mayor 
and  common  council,  and  transports  of  loyalty  by  those 


8GHUTLER  ASSIGNED   TO  NEW  YORK.  563 

devoted  to  the  crown.  It  was  unknown  what  instructions 
he  had  received  from  the  ministry,  but  it  was  rumored 
that  a  large  force  would  soon  arrive  from  England,  sub 
ject  to  his  directions.  At  this  very  moment  a  ship  of 
war,  the  Asia,  lay  anchored  opposite  the  city ;  its  grim 
batteries  bearing  upon  it,  greatly  to  the  disquiet  of  the 
faint-hearted  among  its  inhabitants. 

In  this  situation  of  affairs  Washington  was  happy  to 
leave  such  an  efficient  person  as  General  Schuyler  in 
command  of  the  place.  According  to  his  instructions, 
the  latter  was  to  make  returns  once  a  month,  and  oftener, 
should  circumstances  require  it,  to  Washington,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief,  and  to  the  Continental  Congress,  of  the 
forces  under  him,  and  the  state  of  his  supplies;  and  to 
send  the  earliest  advices  of  all  events  of  importance.  He 
was  to  keep  a  wary  eye  on  Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  and  to 
counteract  any  prejudicial  influence  he  might  exercise 
over  the  Indians.  With  respect  to  Governor  Tryon, 
Washington  hinted  at  a  bold  and  decided  line  of  conduct. 
"  If  forcible  measures  are  judged  necessary  respecting  the 
person  of  the  governor,!  should  have  no  difficulty  in  order 
ing  them,  if  the  Continental  Congress  were  not  sitting ; 
but  as  that  is  the  case,  and  the  seizing  of  a  governor  quite 
a  new  thing,  I  must  refer  you  to  that  body  for  direction." 

Had  Congress  thought  proper  to  direct  such  a  measure, 
Schuyler  certainly  would  have  been  the  man  to  execute  it. 

At  New  York,  Washington  had  learned  all  the  details 
of  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill ;  they  quickened  his  im- 


564  LIFE  OF   WASHINGTON. 

patience  to  arrive  at  the  camp.  He  departed,  therefore, 
on  the  26th,  accompanied  by  General  Lee,  and  escorted 
as  far  as  Kingsbridge,  the  termination  of  New  York 
Island,  by  Markoe's  Philadelphia  light  horse,  and  sev 
eral  companies  of  militia. 

In  the  meantime  the  provincial  Congress  of  Massa 
chusetts,  then  in  session  at  Water  town,  had  made  ar 
rangements  for  the  expected  arrival  of  Washington.  Ac 
cording  to  a  resolve  of  that  body,  "  the  president's  house 
in  Cambridge,  excepting  one  room  reserved  by  the  presi 
dent  for  his  own  use,  was  to  be  taken,  cleared,  prepared, 
and  furnished  for  the  reception  of  the  Commander-in- 
chief  and  General  Lee.  The  Congress  had  likewise  sent 
on  a  deputation  which  met  Washington  at  Springfield,  on 
the  frontiers  of  the  province,  and  provided  escorts  and 
accommodations  for  him  along  the  road.  Thus  honor 
ably  attended  from  town  to  town,  and  escorted  by  volun 
teer  companies  and  cavalcades  of  gentlemen,  he  arrived 
at  Watertown  on  the  2d  of  July,  where  he  was  greeted 
by  Congress  with  a  congratulatory  address,  in  which, 
however,  was  frankly  stated  the  undisciplined  state  of  the 
army  he  was  summoned  to  command.  An  address  of 
cordial  welcome  was  likewise  made  to  General  Lee. 

The  ceremony  over,  Washington  was  again  in  the  sad 
dle,  and,  escorted  by  a  troop  of  light  horse  and  a  caval 
cade  of  citizens,  proceeded  to  the  head-quarters  provided 
for  him  at  Cambridge,  three  miles  distant.  As  he  entered 
the  confines  of  the  camp  the  shouts  of  the  multitude  and 


ARRIVAL  AT  THE  CAMP.  565 

the  thundering  of  artillery  gave  note  to  the  enemy  be 
leaguered  in  Boston  of  his  arrival. 

His  military  reputation  had  preceded  him  and  excited 
great  expectations.  They  were  not  disappointed.  His 
personal  appearance,  notwithstanding  the  dust  of  travel, 
was  calculated  to  captivate  the  public  eye.  As  he  rode 
through  the  camp,  amidst  a  throng  of  officers,  he  was  the 
admiration  of  the  soldiery  and  of  a  curious  throng  col 
lected  from  the  surrounding  country.  Happy  was  the 
countryman  who  could  get  a  full  view  of  him  to  carry 
home  an  account  of  it  to  his  neighbors.  "  I  have  been 
much  gratified  this  day  with  a  view  of  General  Washing 
ton,"  writes  a  contemporary  chronicler.  "  His  excellency 
was  on  horseback,  in  company  with  several  military  gen 
tlemen.  It  was  not  difficult  to  distinguish  him  from  all 
others.  He  is  tall  and  well-proportioned,  and  his  per 
sonal  appearance  truly  noble  and  majestic."  * 

The  fair  sex  were  still  more  enthusiastic  in  their  admi 
ration,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  following  passage  of  a 
letter  written  by  the  intelligent  and  accomplished  wife  of 
John  Adams  to  her  husband :  "  Dignity,  ease,  and  com 
placency,  the  gentleman  and  the  soldier,  look  agreeably 
blended  in  him.  Modesty  marks  every  line  and  feature  of 
his  face.  Those  lines  of  Dryden  instantly  occurred  to  me ; 

"  '  Mark  his  majestic  fabric  !    He's  a  temple 
Sacred  by  birth,  and  built  by  hands  divine; 

*  Thatcher.     Military  Journal. 


566  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON. 

His  soul's  the  deity  that  lodges  there  ; 
Nor  is  the  pile  unworthy  of  the  god.'" 

With  Washington,  modest  at  all  times,  there  was  no 
false  excitement  on  the  present  occasion ;  nothing  to  call 
forth  emotions  of  self-glorification.  The  honors  and  con 
gratulations  with  which  he  was  received,  the  acclamations 
of  the  public,  the  cheerings  of  the  army,  only  told  him 
how  much  was  expected  from  him ;  and  when  he  looked 
round  upon  the  raw  and  rustic  levies  he  was  to  command, 
"  a  mixed  multitude  of  people,  under  very  little  discipline, 
order,  or  government,"  scattered  in  rough  encampments 
about  hill  and  dale,  beleaguering  a  city  garrisoned  by 
veteran  troops,  with  ships  of  war  anchored  about  its 
harbor,  and  strong  outposts  guarding  it,  he  felt  the  awful 
responsibility  of  his  situation,  and  the  complicated  and 
stupendous  task  before  him.  He  spoke  of  it,  however, 
not  despondingly  nor  boastfully  and  with  defiance ;  but 
with  that  solemn  and  sedate  resolution,  and  that  hopeful 
reliance  on  Supreme  Goodness,  which  belonged  to  his 
magnanimous  nature.  The  cause  of  his  country,  he  ob 
served,  had  called  him  to  an  active  and  dangerous  duty, 
but  lie  trusted  that  Divine  Providence,  which  wisely  orders 
the  affairs  of  men,  would  enable  him  to  discharge  it 
ity  and  success.* 

*  Letter  to  Governor  Trumbull.    Sparks,  iii.  81. 


END   OF   VOLUME   I. 


14  DAY  USE 

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